


Reformation

by EuleVix



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, April Fools Day Chapter, Attempted Genocide Run, Blood, Character Death, Child Abuse, Crack shipping because I can, Dates eventually, Drug Use, F/F, F/M, Fluff when I can, Frisk and Chara are also Genderless, Gaster doing Science things, Genocide Route, I aim to make you cry eventually, I am the reason we can't have nice things, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Killing of small creatures, Kinda Slow build I guess, M/M, Mild Gore, Multi, Reader Is Not Frisk, Reader is genderless, Reader-Insert, References to Genocide Route, Self Correcting Timeline, Slow Burn, Suicidal Thoughts, Swearing, Tragedy, Violence, adding more reader tags because why not, bonus chapters, will add more tags as needed
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-24
Updated: 2016-11-06
Packaged: 2018-05-22 22:42:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 39
Words: 122,138
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6096323
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EuleVix/pseuds/EuleVix
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Timelines are interesting things. With each choice there is a change within it. But these are the choices of many and the variations and combinations are infinite.</p><p>But, some are better than others and there are some things that are meant to happen. So when one of those things are removed, the time line must either continue and happen or fall apart.</p><p>The self correction of a timeline can be a beautiful thing, or a deadly vice. It depends on your choices, your goals, and exactly what is missing.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. In the Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> This work will be updated weekly and should update every Monday and Friday of each week at 12:00 am MST.
> 
> I am not sure how far the story will go, but I do already have a good deal of it written. For the other stories I have I plan to use this one to get me back on my feet with writing, and once it is finished I will continue my older stories.
> 
> Edit: changed the summary to better fit the overall goal and idea of the story.
> 
> I hope that you enjoy the story!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This work will be updated weekly and should update every Monday and Friday of each week at 12:00 am MST.
> 
> I am not sure how far the story will go, but I do already have a good deal of it written. For the other stories I have I plan to use this one to get me back on my feet with writing, and once it is finished I will continue my older stories.
> 
> Edit: changed the summary to better fit the overall goal and idea of the story.
> 
> Edit: (4/21/2016) Chapter 1 edited, attempted to fix all seen mistakes.
> 
> I hope that you enjoy the story!!

You always believed in magic. That there was something mystical and hidden in the world just below the surface, deeper than human eyes could see. You were in near love with the legends, folk tales, and stories that had everything to do with monsters and magic. When you were a kid you remembered your Dad reading to you and your brother the raw stories of some of these. It was a yellow book, one made exceptionally large as an easy indicator that it was for children, for adults too lazy to look at the inside contents. Though it was for children, it spared you no kindness. It presented what some might consider too gory and adult for a child. But you understood and you accepted that life was not ‘sunshine and rainbows’; besides, you adored the stories. You loved the monsters, the heroes both human and not. There was only one story that you hated, and that was the last legend that everyone seemed to always know.

 

You remember the first time you heard it, or rather read it. You were seven still and the full complexities of the world was just beyond your grasp, but still the colors and basic ideas somewhat started in your mind. The words in it were still a little above where you could read, though you were still far above your expected level. It was in the first week you had the book, you had been looking over the pictures inside instead of attempting to read it. It was very late since you had waited till you knew your parents were asleep.

 

You snuck into the bathroom, clicked on the light, and sat on the toilet as a small sanctuary from the world. The pictures always made you feel as though maybe they contained some magic, that they were infused with the power of the possible events that took place in them. They weren’t real, or that was what your Dad always had said when it came to the more gory ones. But it never lost the mystery for you. Something in you wouldn’t let it go.

 

All the pictures seemed old, done as mosaics tiled into walls. Little clips of a past civilization’s work, places with the best skills in art they had of the time. You could never tell if the pictures were actual works of art somewhere or if they had been made for the book. Though there would be at least one picture on every page, the letters were still small, trying to cram in as much information they could. It would only be later in your life, during late nights when you couldn’t sleep, that you would flip through and wonder how it had ever gotten passed off as a children’s book.

 

It was that night you read the story, alone, in the quiet of your house, the tiled bathroom echoing to your own ears your gasps and the tears that eventually fell. It was the very last story, one about how the humans, out of fear, pushed back the monsters in a final fight and drove them below the ground. Seven of the humans, mages that were wielding the illusive power of a soul, sacrificed themselves to seal the monsters away and end the war between the two races. You never understand the tears that fell that night. Though, even as the years past, you wished you did. You wanted to understand why the story brought your soul so much sadness and maybe if you did understood it you might find some way to fix that deep pain.

 

You ended up falling asleep in the bathroom, clutching the book to yourself in the bathtub where you had moved to sleep. When your parents found you in the morning they scolded you for staying up so late, but you didn’t care. They didn’t ground you, but made sure you knew if you did it again, and they caught you, that you would be. After that you made sure you were never caught.

 

It was later that day though, that your belief that magic existed came to be a solid fact for you. It was Sunday, and your family always went out on Sunday for breakfast and an early movie. You were in the back seat with your younger brother, lazily gazing out the window, looking out at MT. Ebbot. You were thinking of the story, of how the monsters were locked away and trapped because of an ancient mistake and primal fear. Something deep in your soul ached, maybe it was your heart, or many you were just hungry. You don’t remember clearly, but you know you hurt as you looked at the mountain and that you could only think of how you wished it could be real; that one day the monsters could be free. It was then in your vision, flickering in and out of existence, a white semi-transparent dome encasing the mountain.

 

Over the next couple of days you would spend every chance you had to see the mountain, to focus on trying to see the barrier clearer. Some days it would last for a few seconds, most times it would flicker on like a faulty light bulb. Then, about a month down the road, it stopped flickering and it became a constant in your vision and life. You would dream about it. Sometimes you would dream about the monsters inside, only remembering flickers of hazed faces and drowned out voices. But you carried it with you, knowing that at least something in it all held some truth, that the barrier was real. That it didn’t matter if it was the only magical thing in the world, you knew it was a tangible thing in your life.

 

It didn’t matter how many times you would try to get people to see the barrier, they never did. That was, until the day the barrier came down.

 

It was early in the morning when it happened, the sun just coming up. You had to be up that early for your job, hating that it went against everything that was your ‘natural’ sleep cycle; up all night and asleep all day. You shared an apartment with a roommate, who was still a sleep because the lucky bitch lucked out and got a night shift job. You were slipping on your work shirt, an itchy polo that was always too loose around the bottom and too tight around the neck and arms.

 

You knew it was the barrier the moment you heard it. The apartment shook with an ethereal crack; it was the closest thing you could describe it as. It was as though whatever had been shattering was next to your ears, yet there was nothing around you. Your ears rang with the tearing and reverberations, your skin crawling from the noise. Something inside of you hurt and stung, feeling like it was going to tear along with the sound. You senses were overloaded to the point where you couldn’t tell where the pain was coming from.

 

It didn’t last long, but it left you dazed and out of breath. You glanced around, seeing that some of the trinkets about your house had indeed been knocked off the counters. You smiled as the first thing you thought was that you indeed didn’t imagine it. You ran outside and looked to the area where the barrier should be, you knew it had to be that, you just knew. But you couldn’t see it, the other apartment buildings and various trees covered your line of sight. You ran back inside, grabbed your keys and hat for work, before speeding out the door. You knew you were going to have to take the highway already just to get to work and it was the best place to see Mt. Ebbot from the car. For possibly only time in your life, you were glad you had to take the highway in rush hour traffic.

 

It was when you turned onto the 101 heading north that you spotted the mountain. You could see it clearly, unfazed by the normal white haze that covered it from the magic of the barrier. It was gone, evaporated into thin air. Now all you saw was what you supposed everyone saw every day, no one else would be the wiser. No one else would know that something big had happened and the city might just blow it off as a small earthquake or a jet plane. If you didn’t have work soon you would have taken the next exit and driven to the base; you still had a hard time keeping yourself from doing so anyway.

 

You were wrong about people not noticing; at least for the most part. It was a few hours into starting work that you found that it was definitely not ignored by the city, or to the rest of the world.

 

You bussed tables for a small burger joint in the more ‘rich’ side of town. It was a lunch and sports bar eatery place, a pleasant mixture of Truffle Fries and liquor to be sold to those who had a good amount of excess money. It meant good tips, especially for the more large and drunk of the parties. It was midday when your manager Allie came running to the front from the back of the store.

 

“What’s going on?” You asked worried for her, she looked pale and you could swear she was shaking.

 

“I’m not sure…”

 

She changed the channel of one of the TV’s, it had been playing some baseball on it which caused one of the tables to let out a few calls of displeasure. She ignored them, which caused you even more pause, she was never one to displease the customers. There had to be something wrong.

 

You watched her brown eyes stay stuck to the TV, lights flicking against the shine with the change of each channel. She came to CNN, and stopped. You couldn’t hear the news, the restaurant was too loud and the volume too low, but you could see a picture of Mt. Ebbot on the screen. You could feel your whole body tighten and your ears twitch.

 

Allie quickly turned the volume up and started to shush everyone that she could. As the TV grew in noise, you realized the plastic tub filled with dirty dishes was starting to become heavy in your arms. You placed them on the counter carefully, eyes glued to the TV, you didn’t want to let any chance of missing something happen. You would even stop blinking if you could help it.

 

“-advising everyone in the area close to Mt. Ebbot to change your plans of route if possible since the area has been blocked off by local police. They have assured us that nothing dangerous has happened but do say that the appearance of the creatures to be in relation to the earthquake experienced earlier today. The Police have reassured us that the creatures from inside the mountain are intelligent and being cooperative with police. However, though there is no cause for alarm, they have requested people still stay away until the situation can be fully handled.”

 

‘Intelligent Creatures’ echoed in your own head as you watched. Everyone in the restaurant had their eyes fixed on it, food grew cold and drinks warm as the restaurant watched the TV. Soon they talked about some ‘leaked’ footage of one of the creatures, the video that apparently had ‘started it all’ according to the news. You would bet your whole paycheck that the police had tried to keep it quiet till someone had posted it online somewhere. It was another hour into the news that they showed the video for ‘viewers just joining’. It was a short video of a walking, talking, and breathing skeleton. They were very tall, or were at least compared to the smaller child holding their hand. Their voice was a constant loud, almost yelling volume of speech, as they talked about what they were and who they were, the people in the background making noises and chattering as they anxiously asked the creature questions.

 

You were still stuck on the idea that a skeleton was talking, laughing, and hell, even smiling on the TV. It was probably a good thing that no one else was paying attention to anything in that moment because you couldn’t stop grinning. The world started to feel like it was falling into place, everything in you felt that this was how it was supposed to be with the world.

 

It was after the news had gone over everything for the second time that people started to kind of snap out of their stupor. It seems that monsters, intelligent creatures that were once trapped under Mt. Ebbot, were now free. They said they intended no harm, only wanting to have a chance to live on the surface instead of being stuck in a cave. As the day passed you weren’t able to gather much new information, but the TV was kept on, just in case something new happened.

 

Eventually the TV’s had to be turned off and everything had to be swept, wiped, and thrown out. You managed to get a couple of leftover burger patties from the kitchen and took them for your dinner. You started to drive home, your mind stuck on the monsters that were real. You wanted to meet them. You wanted to drive to the base of the mountain, run past the yellow caution tape, the police, the government officials, and hug the first one you saw. You were not sure why you were excited, or why you felt like you were greeting old friends back to the land of the living, but you did.

 

You managed to compromise with yourself and instead found a neighborhood situated on a hill. Sitting on the roof of your car, eating your bun-less patties, you watched the flickering lights scattered throughout the mountain side. You kept thinking of it all; the stories, the dreams, the desperate wishes for magic and monsters to be real. It had given you comfort before, but this? You felt free, probably not as free as the monsters right now, but everything still seemed to have a shine or glimmer it didn’t before. A spark of something different. It was as you were munching on your last burger that the last light on the mountainside went out and you figured it was probably time for you to call it a day as well.

 

When you returned home you spoke briefly with your roommate. You told her of all the things she missed and had slept through, as well as making sure to call her a lucky for having the day off. What you would have given to have the day off to see if there was some way you could have gotten to explore the mountain and watch things unfold. At first she didn’t believe you when you finished telling her. But, after you showed her the news a couple of times over, she finally believed you. It eventually came to be nearly one in the morning, your roommate having to nearly force you to bed despite your want to still talk about Monsters and Magic. After shushing you for probably the tenth time you allowed yourself to be put in bed and eventually you fell asleep. It was the best rest you had in what felt like years.


	2. Fragments and Pieces

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It was two weeks after when it happened. It was your day off, your roommate was out and you had been watching Netflix quietly eating a bowl of cereal when the world flinched.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the second chapter I'm posting off the schedule just so that there is plenty for a real start of the story.
> 
> The story will update ever Friday from here, the next update being 2/26/2016.
> 
> I do hope that you enjoy it as much as I have writing it so far! Please don't be afraid to leave a comment on any feedback you have! Thank you and I hope you enjoy!
> 
> Edit: M-Moonshade is amazing and found me a super cool thing that I hope you all love <3
> 
> Edit: (4/21/2016) Edited the chapter as best as possible
> 
> (You'll know it when you see it ;3)
> 
> (code was made by La_Temperanza, they are a coding god and you can find it here: http://archiveofourown.org/works/5434577?show_comments=true#comments)

The next few days were, well, hard. It wasn’t because work. In fact, work had gotten much better since they always seemed to have one screen airing the news now. What was difficult was keeping yourself actually working instead of just watching the screen. You wanted to get out there. Though you knew the police wouldn’t let some random civilian into the mountain area, it didn’t stop your heart from yearning.

 

It was after maybe the first week that you started to wonder why you wanted to see the monsters so badly. What you heard from your customers had been mostly people filled with apprehension, so why were you not? It was starting to seem like you were the only one who was excited at all. ‘But.’ You thought as you cleared one of the tables outside, the plates and empty wine glasses clinking together as you carefully placed them in the tub. ‘that’s not anything new, is it?’

 

It was two weeks after when it happened. It was your day off, your roommate was out and you had been watching Netflix quietly eating a bowl of cereal when the world _flinched_.

 

You stopped mid bite. Everything felt different, the bowl in your hands, the show on the screen, even your own skin. You had felt this before, a very few times in the past year or two. But this one was _strong,_ like the whole of reality squeezed tightly for a brief moment. You analyzed your surroundings, hoping it was nothing.

 

You turned your attention to the TV when you fully recognized what the characters were saying on it. Not because it was a show in your language or something like that. It was more because it sounded as if it was a line you had already heard a couple dozen times. A shiver ran up your spine, your skin bristled, and your mouth went dry.

 

This was your first time watching the episode, there was no way you could have known what was going to happen. You cautiously placed your bowl on the table, hands shaking as you started to speak along with the characters verbatim.

 

“ _They’re going to be here in an hour.”_

“They’re going to be here in an hour.”

_“Good Lord. Four more Chucks.”_

“Good Lord. Four more Chucks.”

_“All right. First up is Lewis.”_

“All right. First up is Lewis.”

 

You couldn’t continue. You quickly turned off the TV, grabbed your keys and headed outside. You could feel your heart pounding in your chest, and you kept thinking about what could be happening. It wasn’t abnormal for you to get déjà vu, in fact you had even experienced déjà vu inside of déjà vu before. Rarely, you would have at least a vague impression of what people would say sometimes. But, you knew what was going to happen in the episode, and the next, and the next. It frightened you.

 

You got into your car and sat for a moment, hands clutching the chilly steering wheel and keys in the ignition. You needed to gather yourself as you were too freaked by something that should not be possible. The cold was helping, it kept you latched to the physical world, letting you know you were still real.

 

After some time you looked around, trying to see if anything here would be or feel the same way. You started to guess and see if various things around you would happen in desperate attempts to prove to yourself the world was no longer on repeat. Maybe someone would come out of the gate right then, or a car would park in the empty space beside you. But nothing felt like it did with the TV and none of what you attempted to guess at happened. Sure that things were different and not a giant bubble of ‘life-sized re-run’, you let out a relieved sigh.

 

You decided not to go back inside the house for the next couple of hours, or at least until you stomach settled a bit more. You needed to go and do something, anything that would allow you to relax more and stop your palms from their nervous sweating. You wiped your hands on your pants and turned on the car. You didn’t really know where to go and honestly it didn’t matter as long as it was not your apartment, but you wanted to have some kind of goal in mind. After taking a few minutes to think you finally settled on where you wanted to go.

 

It was a park that was a bit more out of the way then most of the ones you knew. It wasn’t very well traveled and was on the edge of the large city itself. It was far away from the coast line and not close to anything anyone else would see as worth visiting, but it was a special place for you. Not many people would visit there since for most it was a lot of gas just to get there. The only time most people even went was to see the sun rise or set and after that it was mostly clear of any life except for what naturally existed there. It was a small slice of peace in the bustling city and the only park you would visit often. You could get lost in the trees there, forget that the city existed, and for a moment forget all of your stress. It was a glorious place.

 

You drove to it and parked your car at the small parking lot of dirt and small rocks. Slamming your door closed, you headed up the pathway which was not very worn, but if you looked closely it was there. The grass was growing over the pathway making an outline with shorter against the taller. As you walked, the sunlight trickled down in flecks across the path, tiny spots of warm hitting your back as you traveled. It was quiet compared to the city. The pollution of car engines and horns, people chattering, and the buzz of electricity were lost here. It was as if the whole place has a special barrier all its own. But you knew that wasn’t true; you would have been able to see it if that was so. Or at least that is what you believed.

 

You continued up the pathway, eventually coming to even ground. You were a little winded, the hill’s slope being the cause, but it wasn’t anything you didn’t expect. You pulled off the path here, working your own that you knew well. Just a couple of yards away from the crest of the hill was a place you called your own. You first found it a few years ago, a place that was a promise of alone time. Though people didn’t visit this trail often, the pathway was always an invite for those few others who liked the seclusion as much as you did.

 

It wasn’t that you didn’t like other people. It was more that you, well, didn’t quite ‘fit in’. Maybe it was that you could see magic, or maybe it was because you found their typical social norms to be rather ridiculous. You were just glad you had found a place that you could use to forget the world sometimes. You believed everyone needed a small place like that.

 

Finally, you came to it. It was a part of the hill that had a drop off unlike most of the other parts of it making it more of a small cliff. It wasn’t one that faced west of east, so no one came for the sights, and the trees were even more spaced in this area than any others. However, as you sat at the edge you watched a scene you figured was worth a lot more than watching a burning gas ball hurt your eyes slowly as it repeated its daily routine.

 

The city could be seen spread in front of you, trees like a small forest outlining the bottom. In the far distance lay the ocean, water glittering silver and blue. You might have disliked people sometimes and society, but there was still parts of it you reveled in. That, somehow, you made it to this moment. That no one else would ever see the city just as it was now. Each day it would change and something would be different, but right now it was full of life; right no now one would ever be in the exact same place as today.

 

To the left lay Mt. Ebbot, and you paused wondering when the Monsters would become more integrated into society. The myths and legends couldn’t be ignored now. You sighed, pushing yourself to let it go. You couldn’t really do anything about it, save for maybe join some of the pro-monster protests that had started to form. But even then it was just yelling and screaming for someone to move faster than the government would let them. You turned your focus back to just the sight, letting the feeling of life in the whole of the area cover your heart; letting go of any past you might have had and loving the town for what it was.

 

There was a sudden pop you could hear from behind you, followed by a gasp. Your body flinched at the noise before you wiped around franticly looking for where the sound would have come from. You didn’t have to look far, since behind you now stood a _skeleton_ in a blue parka way too warm for the spring weather and shorts. His left hand was out while his right was stuffed deeply into his pocket. His expression changed as you stared at him, his left eye flickering blue for only a moment as he took a small step back with one foot. The blue seemed to disappear when he saw your face, but it was quick enough that you weren’t even sure you really saw it.

 

You could feel a tightness in your chest and your skin prickle. You couldn’t move your feet, your legs felt heavy as they quivered, but you didn’t want to move. He didn’t move either. You were absolutely sure the guy was a monster, which sounds rather silly once you fully think about it since skeletons don’t walk around on their own normally. But, you rationalized, you had seen things that were just as weird before the barrier fell; second guessing yourself by now was just second nature. A sinking feeling started to form in your gut, worried that you had scared him somehow. He was the first monster you had really ever seen, who was to say you weren’t his first human? The last thing you wanted to do was ruin a friendship you had been secretly hoping would one day exist since your childhood. You raised your hands up with open palms as to show that you mean no harm.

 

“S-Sorry! I didn’t mean to scare you!” The Skeleton remained quiet, white pinpricks that rested in black eye sockets traveled the length of your body, measuring you up you guessed. You hoped there would be a way you might be able to push the situation into your favor. You tried to relax your shoulders, face towards him more, and give him your most genuine smile.

 

“I was just watching the city. It’s a rather secluded area so I didn’t know anyone else would come this way.” You put your hands down as you gave a slightly forced chuckle. The Skeleton started to walk towards you and instinct took over for a moment, causing you to tense briefly.

 

“h u m a n.” The skeleton said, his voice slow and punctuating. You swallowed dryly, hoping that this didn’t turn out to be just a bad day to visit the park, or that maybe you just happened to run into the wrong monster. “why are skeleton’s so calm?”

 

“I don’t know. W-why?”

 

The skeleton was now in front of you, almost your exact height, maybe just an inch or two smaller. The lights that were his eyes trained on yours, a wide toothy grin beaming at you, and the shade of the trees above you cascading down his face. For a moment, he seemed familiar.

 

“cause nothing gets under their skin.”

 

You were quiet for a moment, the joke slowly registering to your brain. Then, you cracked a smile, and before you knew it you couldn’t help but let out a bellow of laughter. Maybe it was the relief that you were feeling, or maybe just having a skeleton tell a skeleton joke was funnier than it should have been, but your laughter echoed through the area. It was shortly after that you could hear the skeleton chuckling as well; you didn’t want to admit it, since you just met him, but his laugh was rather calming.

 

“hey, pal, i’m sans. didn’t mean to give you a fright there. _tibia_ honest i wasn’t expecting anyone else up here either.” You continued to laugh, pausing for a moment to wipe away a small tear of laughter from your face. You were a sucker for comedy for sure, and bad puns held a very special place inside your heart. You were just still happy that the skeleton wanted to make friends instead of the latter you had only wondered for a moment.

 

“Well, Sans.” You said, your smile coming much easier to your lips now. “It is a bit crowded up here, but I think there _might_ be just enough room for you to join me.” You said as you gestured towards the empty area about you. However, it when then you realized just how forward you were being. The thoughts caused your stomach to feel like it did a small flip.

 

“I-I mean, that is, if you want to join me.” You gave a small laugh to try and abate the feelings of worry and fear creeping up on you again. They were not from the skeleton, which was for sure. It was more that you knew you were just digging a ditch for yourself as far as the conversation goes. It wasn’t just every day you got to meet a monster, you didn’t want this to be the last; if you managed to ruin it.

 

“gladly.” He said, walking towards the edge of the ledge and sat down. “so, uh, what brings you out here pal?” San said as you sat down next to him, giving the two of you’re a foot of space.

 

“Just, uh, need to get out of the house. Was a bit stuffy.” You didn’t think it was a good idea to tell a monster of the weird deja vu you had earlier. You just don’t tell people you just met stuff like that. “You?”

 

“the, uh, camp was getting a bit too crowded.” You didn’t want to be the creepy person curious about monsters and everything about them. You tried, you really did, but your curiosity was never something you could hold back for very long.

 

“Are there a lot of you?” You said after a moment of mental deliberation.

 

“well, maybe not as many of us as there are humans. but tents can be comfortable. sometimes.”

 

“Oh. True.” ‘Right,’ you thought ‘dumb question. Lets try another.’ “How did you get all the way over here?”

 

Sans let out a low hearty laughter, you looked over at him, his eyes were stuck on the city and a lazy smile was on his face. He was leaning back, one boney hand planted in the grass, fingers intertwining with a few of the green blades. His right hand was draped over his right knee.

 

“lets say i know a pretty good shortcut. hey, you know any good jokes?”

 

You blinked a couple of times, unsure for a moment how to respond to the odd question. “Um, I think I know a couple, but you’ve probably heard them.”

 

“come on, pal, don’t tell me your _bone dry_. ” A sinister smile crept across your face as you let out a small laugh.

 

“Fine then, but you asked for it!” You took a small moment searching your mind for a good joke. Sure, you knew a bunch, some of them really dark too. But, you were pretty sure that a Skeleton who had never been on the surface would have no chance of knowing any of the context of most of those jokes. It was after a bit of thinking the perfect one came to mind. You just hoped he hadn’t heard it before.

 

“What type of art to Skeletons like?” Sans turned towards you to face you with a huge grin and smiling eye sockets, humming a small response as indication for you to continue. “Skulltures!”

 

For the next hour the area became filled with laughter from you both. Eventually you did run out of jokes you were sure he would know and had to get into ones you had to explain. Save for a select few, he seemed to get them perfectly fine. It wasn’t till you realized just how long you both had been sitting there just telling jokes that you found yourself a lot more comfortable talking with Sans. You weren’t sure when it happened, you hadn’t really been paying much attention past his laughter. But, he has started to feel like a friend you had at least gone out for a couple of drinks with. Enough to move from the jokes and start asking questions again.

 

“So, Sans, mind if I ask you something?”

 

“sure thing, pal. what’s up?”

 

“Now, you don’t have to answer me. I mean, we did just meet and I guess I technically asked earlier. But, what is it like back at the monster camp? Do you think they will be letting you all out of the area anytime soon?”

 

Sans was silent for a little while. You glanced at him from the corner of your vision watching him. You understood his apprehension, and his fear even from earlier. You were a human, and if anything was proven with all the events of lore coming to reality, was that humans and monsters in the past didn’t have the best of relationships. You probably wouldn’t blame him if he got up and walked away now. But he was funny, you wanted to know more about him, about his life. You wanted to know the things he liked and disliked, and you also wanted to know when you would be able to meet others like him as well. You felt like you fit in with Sans, an odd and rare feeling you never really had with anyone else.

 

“you sure you wanna know, buddy? it might take a lot of explaining.”

 

“I’m a quick learner, trust me.” You gave him a wink.

 

“suit yourself.” Sans said as he shrugged at you, his smile oddly content. “well, most of the monsters still are in the comfort of the underground for now, at least until they can figure out where to relocate us.”

 

“The Underground?”

 

“the name of the place we lived for the past couple hundred years. under the mountain, beneath the barrier.”

 

“How did you all manage to live under the mountain for so long?” You knew that they had been under there for long enough for humanity to forget that they had banished them. However, you had always assumed they lived on top and around the mountain. But being trapped under the ground for that long, well, you could only imagine what it was like for them when they finally got out.

 

“better question, don’t you want to know about the barrier?” You blinked at Sans a couple of times before answering.

 

“Oh, right. Well…You see it’s a bit weird…”

 

“and a talking skeleton isn’t?” You suddenly felt ridiculous. Well, he wasn’t wrong, but it was odd that you didn’t even think of that and the one who had lived in the underground his whole life did.

 

“You got me there. Okay so, bare with me here then, okay?” You waited for him to nod, once he did you took a deep breath. You were about to tell him a story you hadn’t said to anyone since it all first happened, a closely kept secret for fear of being even more pinned as someone who should be ostracized from society. But, it would be okay right? Sans was a monster, he was apart of it all in some way right? He wouldn’t hate you or think you weird afterwards, you believed that.

 

“So, I would always read stories about it when I was younger right? Myths and legends about monsters and humans. About the barrier and how seven mages made it. When I was seven I started to see the barrier, and it didn’t matter who I told no one would believe me though. I feel ashamed now but, some part of me always wondered if I was imagining it since no one else could see it.” You looked back at the mountain, the clear vision unclouded by white, and smiled.

 

“Ya know, when the barrier broke and I heard there were monsters on the news I was relieved. It was almost like a feeling of coming home after traveling for days across country or something. Just this tired happiness with a quiet whisper of ‘finally’.”

 

You moved your gaze from the mountain back to Sans. His eyes met yours and you could feel something in your chest pull. Your face grew hot, embarrassed at your strange confession, worried that you were wrong about it being okay.

 

“See, I told you it was strange. Its not important anyway so why don’t we just…actually why don’t we just forget I said anything, huh? So, how’s the weather here compared to the underground?” You sputtered your words out as best as you could, knowing you were just once again making yourself into a tangled social mess.

 

“no! no, its really interesting, actually.”

 

You refused to meet his eyes, you knew if you did your face would just become a deeper shade. You were glad it wasn’t such a horrible thing to say as you thought it would be. But, still, you just spilled out something you didn’t tell any of your closest friends, and had lost you many old ones. It was stuff you kept a bit more closely guarded because you would always get strange looks and lose friends. Humans always seemed to be scared of the odd and unknown; you never understood it.

“so, could you see the barrier all the time?”

 

“Uh.” You grunted at Sans having been retreating mentally for a moment. ‘Great response there, a winner is you!’ You berated yourself in a half joking manner.

 

“Um, yeah. Once I started seeing the barrier, it never left. It was one of the things that made me sure it wasn’t just a childish hallucination.” You sucked in a deep breath of air, slowly letting it out, and smiled. “I’m glad I wasn’t wrong.” You paused for a moment as a question struck you. You knew that no one you met had been able to see the barrier, but that was just other humans.

 

“What about you though, can monsters see the barrier?”

 

“of course. monsters are made of magic and the barrier was magic too. well, technically it was SOUL magic, but its all the same either way.”

 

“Monsters…are made of magic?” This was definitely new to you and something you suddenly needed to know more about.

 

“yep. magic and a little bit of SOUL.” Sans lifted his right hand, pinching his index and thumb almost together to give emphasis to his words. You gave Sans a small frown, while he merely continued to smile at you.

 

“Okay, got that part, but where does the magic come from? Is there some part of you that’s physical or something? If not, how do monsters come to exist?” Your mind flickered a with thoughts of a show you once saw about this kid named Steven. You didn’t think it would be anything like that

 

“you see, when one monster loves another monster…” Sans said, the smile still plastered on his face somehow getting bigger and a held back laugh under his breath. As much as you wanted to hate his obvious point, you couldn’t help but smile at the ridiculousness of your question.

 

“Okay, okay! I get it!”

 

“but, to answer your question, i have no idea where magic comes from really. but it is what holds our bodies together. i guess that’s just what matters right?”

 

You chuckled lightly. “Yeah, your right.”

 

“besides, i thought it was my turn for questions.”

 

“Geez! Sans, I’m so sorry! I guess I just got a bit, uh, excited.” Your face was burning again, but your forced yourself to think that it was fine, and you weren’t dominating the conversation. Not at all.

 

“no problem, pal. anyway, i have a strange question for you, if you don’t mind me asking?”

 

“Well, you didn’t react bad to my strange question so of course. I owe you that at least.”

 

Sans shifted his body, moving his leg down, hands becoming tucked into his pockets. He was silent for a while, it put you a little on edge. Not just because you were wondering what he was thinking and what the question would be, but more because you hadn’t really seen him not fully smile the whole time you both had been talking.

 

“you ever have memories you shouldn’t have?” You whole body seemed to become drenched in cold by his words. You watched him, keeping your gaze even after he turned to meet your eyes. “things you remember happening already but its still the first time for everyone else? anything like that?”

 

You felt like you were shivering, but you knew you weren’t. You felt cold and your palms started to sweat again. You started to rapid fire answers in your head, trying to decide what you should say or if you shouldn’t at all. Did he somehow know about the morning? If he did, what exactly did he know and why of all people would he be asking you. Why did you even have any memories like that in the first place? You swallowed, your spit thick and dry feeling in your mouth. You wanted to answer, but more time past and you started to fear you would never find where to start.

 

“he-he, well uh, this isn’t awkward at all, is it?”

 

“S-sorry, its not that. Just that, well, um…” Why was it so hard to just tell him that yes, you had experienced that many, many times before. Maybe it was because it was one of the more stranger things in your life you never let yourself admit was more than just the deja-vu you always pinned it as. It scared you. “Yes.” You finally choked out. “I…There was actually something that happened this morning like that. Its why I’m here in the first place…”

 

“what do you remember?”

 

“Just some shows I was watching, having a lazy day you know?” You started to hope that he wouldn’t ask more about this, you had come up here to forget it all in the first place anyway. You didn’t want to start remembering that weird feeling all over again.

 

“how much do you remember?” His words were slow, careful.

 

“I…” You started to find it a little hard to breath as you could feel your whole body tense. “I remembered everything that would have happened for the past several hours, Sans. Maybe even the whole day.” You inhaled sharply, forcing yourself to continue.

 

“Every line of my shows. I even knew that my roommate would leave home exactly at 6:12 pm, upset that she was running behind getting to work. I knew that the news wouldn’t be reporting much on the Mountain today. I would order a pizza, and the guy’s name would be Adam. He would be late with my Pizza. It…”

 

You liked Sans, you really did. He was a fun guy, really good at making you laugh which was one of the greatest gifts you thought anyone could have. It wasn’t anything against Sans, or even his question. You just needed to leave, to move, do something; anything that would get the unsettling feeling of your own skin being weird to go away. You stood up slowly not wanting to scare Sans, or yourself; if that was somehow even possible.

 

“Sorry, Sans. I, uh, just realized how late it was getting. I should probably head home. I’ll see you later.” You didn’t think to stop or wait for Sans to reply. It might ruin your chances with future encounters with monsters, but you could deal with that for now.

 

“w-wait!”

 

You didn’t even have time to turn around and look back towards where Sans was, or at least where he should have been. Suddenly he was standing in front of you, his smile looked forced and you were sure you saw genuine worry in the creases of his eyes.

 

“hey, i don’t know what your feeling right now but trust me when I say that there was nothing more important than what your just told me right now.” He outstretched a hand towards you, hand open and his grin looking a bit more normal. You didn’t think much past the surface, you could still feel your skin crawling. “you don’t have to stay but, would it be too much to ask if we could meet again?”

 

Maybe if you didn’t feel such an urge to run, you would have thought about his words more. You probably would have asked him about what you had said was so important, or why he would want to meet you again especially after running like you were. But you didn’t, instead the only thought that crossed your mind was that you wouldn’t mind seeing his rather handsome face again or hearing a few more of his jokes.

 

“I’d…I think I would rather like that Sans.” You slipped your hand into his, about to shake his hand, when suddenly the lights of the world flickered off.


	3. The First Log of Many

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A log lost to time and space. The log of someone with whom much importance was placed on. A log of many. A log of nonexistence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really do hope that everyone has been enjoying the story thus far!! I'm please to say that today I get to post the first Gaster Chapter! Yes, there will be more and I do have to say I very much like writing his chapters. This one is a bit small, but no worries, there will be another chapter posted next friday and that one is much longer a well! (That is I know this is only 800+ words, but I can't really make it longer. But the next one is 3k+ so there will be a lot more to read then so just bare with me!)
> 
> The date for that next chapter post will be 3/4/2016 so keep an eye out!!
> 
> Also, for those who have been leaving comments, thank you! I do quiet enjoy them and I've had fun replying to them as well. :)
> 
> So, without much else, here is the next chapter!! Please enjoy and if you have any questions or comments please feel free to leave some!

_“Log 1. Year 201X, June 18th.” Gaster adjusted his lab coat, hands shifting the always bothersome collar that covered his neck. Though he was a scientist, he hated the regulations they forced upon him as safety code for his establishment to be allowed to function. It was negligible at the moment, having more important things to preform that day. He continued to talk, ignoring the itch at his neck, as he moved about his lab. The dark metal was clearly illuminated under the many lights far above in the vaulted ceiling, fans whirling far back in another room cooling the power generator for the lab. To Gaster, the ever present hum and dark shine were home._

_“Today marks the beginning of my determination experiments as requested by the King and Queen. Though they have been attempted before, by other….less qualified scientists, the King believes that with my influence and knowledge on determination, the tests might finally work. If they succeed we might be able to use it to create artificial SOUL’s and break the barrier. For this, I have requested to be assigned two new assistants. I hope they are as promising as their resumes state. Log end.”_

_Gaster gathered up a few things that he deemed being out of their respective holding places. Some glass bottles, plastic containers filled with powders and liquids of many types, a few empty glass vials, some holders, and one autoclave. Sure, some of them had small experiments he had to clean out, but none of them were important. Science gave him ease, so when he was stress he would do little projects to relax. He moved about, cleaning up the organized mess, clearing off all of the counters and insuring that the cleanliness met his standards; he always found them much higher than most of the other monsters that managed to even have labs in the underground._

_It didn’t take him long to organize everything, he already liked things neat and tidy, it made sure there was no possible influences on his tests then what he wanted. It was how a lab should operate. It was just another reason he didn’t visit many other labs, always finding himself irritated when he would. They didn’t even have color coded, individually labeled, and set by size cables for some of their electronic equipment! Their flasks were always just randomly placed within a few cabinets with no order or separation! It was just stressful and always left him wondering how anyone ever got any work done in those unorganized labs._

_His dislike for the labs he felt no difference in opinion when it came to the monsters that ran them; and possibly about all monsters in general. He was often cited in the papers as a recluse and someone to fear out of his looks and past. He was fine with this though, it left him to his work and allowed him to build greater technology for monster kind. He didn’t need any thanks, it was just what he wanted to do, and sometimes what was asked of him. Being sent assistants was no different. Though he usually looked down on those whom the King had deemed he ‘needed’, he believed the two he was able to pick would be satisfactory enough for the upcoming experiments. Neither of them had any LOVE, in fact one of them he almost worried would be fragile to touch. But their skills were far above their peers in each of their fields. Gaster hoped that their youthful insight would also be able to see the scope of which he wanted his creations to reach._

_As much as Gaster had hope for the two, he still silently wished that he had been gifted with many limbs, like the lovely Miss Muffet. If he had then the need for him to even have anyone else in the lab wouldn’t be such a stressful endeavor since the need would not exist. But he accepted his limitations many years ago. Quickly pushing the thought from his mind, he focused on getting ready to welcome new people to his lab. He was having guests and though he expected it to be more pristine then what they would probably be used to, they were his own standards and he was not going to lower them any time soon._

_It all would be negligible if they didn’t last more than a week like the rest of them. Gaster let out a sigh at the thought, though he believed they would be different; he prayed they would be. Their magic manipulation levels and technological understanding rivaled his own, if not surpassed it. He was going to need it if he was going to harness the real powers of monsters and humans. Of time and space._

_There was a loud tone that sang about the room, a single well heard ring of a bell without the sharp vibrations of metal._

_“Two guests have arrived. Permission is being requested for entry.” It was a synthetic male voice, nearly the same tone as the ring from before. It always pleased Gaster, since it sounded almost completely real and yet there was no piece of SOUL being the driving force of it. It was a pure A.I._

_“Names?”_

_“Sans Serif and Alphys Bettos”_

_“Permission granted. Show them the way here, SID.”_

_“Understood. Calculating transit…5 minutes to arrival.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again for reading and enjoying my story!
> 
> If you would like to follow me on tumblr you can find me at: rileywrit.tumblr.com
> 
> And please feel free to leave a comment! I love hearing from people. :)


	4. Please. Just Run.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It was now a week into the radio silence from Sans, by now you were sure that you probably blew it and if there weren’t that many monsters around word would spread. You had been optimistic for the past two days since there was an announcement over the news that select monsters would be allowed about the town as a part of an integration project. But there was still no signs of the skeleton. You didn’t know why the thought hurt so much, the idea that you somehow possibly made enemies with monsters you didn’t know, but it did. Overtime at work through helped keep your mind off of the topic. Things might be weird at the moment but that didn’t change that you had to pay the bills still.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So...this is not at all on schedule.
> 
> Yes, I still plan to release another chapter come the date I originally planed, so no worries okay! (Which will be 3/4/2016)
> 
> But, to be honest, I'm feeling a bit down and I kinda figure there would be nothing better than posting a new chapter to help me with trying to feel a little better.
> 
> This has yet to be edited, so tomorrow I will update that as well so please keep in mind this is actually still really rough. Also, to be even more honest, this was probably the most awkward chapter to write, but I love what comes out of it later on. So, I hope you all still enjoy it and it's not bad or something cause I kinda worry about that with this chap.
> 
> Still, the ball is rolling! Shit is doing down with you and Sans in the middle. I hope you enjoy this awkward little chap and that you all look forward to the next chapter after it.
> 
> And thanks for helping do a bit better.
> 
> EDIT: SUPER Thanks again to M_Moonshade, she's not only a wonderful friend and editor but she's the one who helped me get the code for Sans and Papyrus! Hope you all like the change and enjoy what will come!
> 
> (code was made by La_Temperanza, they are a coding god and you can find it here: http://archiveofourown.org/works/5434577?show_comments=true#comments)

 

You jolted up from the couch where you were laying. The TV was off and through the window you can tell the sun was almost finishing setting. The lights of the apartment were on and you could smell the appetizing yet slightly cringe-worthy aroma of burnt toast and butter.

 

You did not remember how you got home. The last thing you did remember was trying to leave, shaking hands with Sans, and then…nothing? You had to have gotten home somehow, and hopefully not by your own means. The thought that Sans might have driven your car when you were pretty sure monsters hadn’t the chance to earn divers licenses yet was unsettling; but you preferred it to the idea of driving home while blacked out.

 

There was a sudden crash from your roommate’s room. You expected it to cause your heart to leap from the noise but rather you only found your body to twitch slightly. It was then that you realized your heart was already beating fast enough that the scare didn’t really effect it much at all. You decided to see if maybe your roommate knew how you managed to make it home, before she left. You cupped your hands around your mouth and called out.

 

“Raven?”

 

“What is it? I’m going to be late!”

 

“Do you remember how I got home?”

 

“When? When you went drinking last?”

 

“No, I mean just now. Today. I’m, uh, having a rather bad migraine and the days a bit fuzzy.” You really hoped she would buy it, or at least if she didn’t she would at least answer your question.

 

“You should take some medicine then!”

 

“No, just, well okay yes I will but Raven, please! I need to know!”

 

Raven came fumbling on her coat as she speed walked out of her room, her black hair still wet from her bath. “Look, I really gatta go! I’ll tell you later.”

 

“No please, Raven its important!” She tried to hide it but you could hear the groan of displeasure she made before turning around to answer you.

 

“You drove here, woke me up for work, and the just laid on the couch! Wasn’t anything different than what you do normally!”

 

“You didn’t see anyone? Did I mention anyone?”

 

“All you told me was that you went to the part today, that was it. Rather boring way to spend the day if you ask me.”

 

You stopped asking questions, fairly sure that the answer you were dreading more was the truth. That somehow you drove home completely blacked out, and yet somehow remained normal. You didn’t even know why it would have happened in the first place.

 

“Hey.” Raven’s voice cut through your thoughts. You looked towards the door, where Raven stood with one hand on the handle, purse in the other. “You sure you didn’t do anything? Like go drinking or something? You’re acting kind of weird.”

 

“Oh! No! No, I’m fine Raven really! Just have a headache and had a weird dream I guess.”

 

“Okay then, as long as your okay. I’ll see ya later if your still up, k?” Raven said from now half way through the door way.

 

“Sounds good! Dive safe, Raven!”

 

“Always.”

 

With that Raven closed the door and a quiet static seemed to buzz about you in the room. You looked into the kitchen, eyes falling on the green neon clock of your microwave. It read 6:14 pm.

 

The next few days after meeting Sans and having the black out, life seemed to continue as normal. None of it felt normal, things still felt a mix of right and out of place. But that didn’t stop the rest of the world needing to move forward. Besides, you didn’t think anyone else felt even close to what you did.

 

You went to your job, bussed your tables, listen to the news for any update on the monsters. However, sadly, the news on the monsters remained the same; only thing different was a report about some kid having gone missing.

 

After work you would drive to the park. You would spend a few minutes just sitting in the car, looking up the hill and wondering if it was even worth going. In the end you would be able to use the excuse that you had nothing better to do and would make the short trip.

 

You would wait, just a little while, watching the twinkling sea of stars that were the lights of the city. Eventually you would leave, Sans having not come and the food you got from work growing cold. You had been hoping you would be able to see him again, maybe then you would have been able to find out more as to what really happened during your black out.

 

It was now a week into the radio silence from Sans, by now you were sure that you probably blew it and if there weren’t that many monsters around word would spread. You had been optimistic for the past two days since there was an announcement over the news that select monsters would be allowed about the town as a part of an integration project. But there was still no signs of the skeleton. You didn’t know why the thought hurt so much, the idea that you somehow possibly made enemies with monsters you didn’t know, but it did. Overtime at work through helped keep your mind off of the topic. Things might be weird at the moment but that didn’t change that you had to pay the bills still.

 

It was a Wednesday, your first day off in a while. You wanted to relax and sleep in, but your cat Link had decided to be a complete asshole and only let you sleep till 9 after going to bed around 5. He could see the bottom of his bowl and he was sure that if you didn’t wake up right then and feed him, he was going to starve to death. Once you were up, the cat fed, you figured that your plans had already been trashed and so you might as well go and get a few things done. It seemed like a good day to have a chore day.

 

You got in your car and headed towards the supermarket. It was a specialty store that you were heading to and a rather large one at that. It was an Asian Market in the east side of the city, close to the mountain and far from where you lived, but the prices made the drive always worth it. It was the single best store in the whole city and there was no place that came close to what was sold and for the deals you could get them at. There wasn’t anything you didn’t love about this place and after such a long week you decided it would be as relaxing as possible for a place you had to shop at.

 

You should have grabbed a cart, there were plenty of things you needed back at the apartment. You took your time going down the aisles slowly, checking off the half remembered list in your head of the stuff you planned to get. You walked down one of the smaller aisles, idly staring at one of the drinks in your hand you were trying to decide if you should get as a treat for yourself or not when you felt your skin start to crawl again.

 

You heart started to pump almost painfully in your chest as you started to wildly look around. This seemed distorted without you being able to visually see what was wrong. It wasn’t like that first time back at home. It was a kind you knew you had felt a few times before in the past. If there was a way to _feel_ a visual percentage of the chances something would happen, this would be it.

 

You figured you should ignore it, it was just deja vu, a thing that is a trick of the mind. It was impossible to ‘see’ the future and know what would happen. But, then again, so were monsters and magic. With a frustrated growl you ditched your cart in the middle of the walkway. You were not sure what would happen, but you knew it was imperative you be there. It worried you that you only had the emotions of it all, not knowing really the full layout of the story. But you did know one thing and that was you would finally get to see Sans again.

 

You bounded around the corner of one of the smaller aisles, the feelings welling in you telling you it was the right place, the right time. You stood there through, staring, waiting. But the aisle remained empty. You continued to wait, something in your very soul you swore was pleading and begging for Sans to just come down the fucking walk way. You couldn’t be wrong, there was no way you could be wrong.

 

“hey, human!” You heard Sans’s voice call from behind you. It was forced and deliberate. You whipped around, your face immediately forming a smile when you saw him. However your smile quickly feel as you saw the two large policemen standing a few feet behind him.

 

“sorry to ask you this, but i couldn’t help _spine_ you over here. see, i promised my bother i’d try to get him some of this new portable spaghetti he heard about, but i can’t seem to lay an _eye_ on it. now, pal, i know you don’t know me and but if you don’t mind being a-skull-ciated with me, i would really appreciate the help. ”

 

You could see clear white drops of sweat covering Sans’s forehead, his vocals were being forcefully cheery. Something was wrong, and you didn’t know if you really should be grateful for the deja-vu feelings or if soon you might come to regret them.

 

“A-ah sure! I would be glad to help. What was it you were looking for again?”

 

“canned spaghetti. the kid said that it came in little o’s or something. but i’ve been having some trouble finding it.” You wondered if this was some code he was expecting you to somehow get. Sure, you could see magic according to him, but that didn’t mean you were the world’s greatest psychic suddenly.

 

“I, um, believe that is spaghetti o’s your looking for. I don’t think you’re going to find them here.”

 

“oh!silly me, it seems that i went to the wrong place. thank you for your help, pal. i think i’ll try the place…across the street.” You could feel those same feeling of urgency and fear rise as Sans started to turn around. You decided that once this was over, whatever it all was, Sans was going to have to make it all up to you somehow.

 

“Wait, I don’t mind walking you over and showing you-“ Before you could finish Sans whirled back around, his eye flicking blue for a moment.

 

“ N O ! ” You didn’t think it was possible for someone who always seemed to speak so calmly to sound at all panicked as Sans did. You swore you could feel the bass of his voice vibrate the whole of your body. It was here that you would have expected to see the police do or say something, but they didn’t. You made up your mind, feelings of fear or not, you were not going to leave Sans alone.

 

“i mean, no need to, pal! its just a little can of soup. you should stay here and finish your shopping.”

 

“None sense, you’re our new neighbors! It would be unkind of me to now help you when your in need.”

 

You walked up to Sans, quickly linking an arm around his left and started to pull him down the aisle towards the front of the store. As you exited the lane and came out towards the registers you realized that the store was empty save for a few workers standing behind the false safety of their register counters. You could feel Sans trying to pry himself free.

 

“what are you doing?” he whispered to you. “you need to get out of here, trust me when i say its for your own health and well-being.”

 

“And trust me when I say that I’m not going to let you face whatever is about to happen alone, Sans.”

 

“why are you even doing this?”

 

“Cause someone has to.”

 

You remained silent as you continued to lead Sans out the shopping center doors and lead him towards your car. The police were trailing a couple of feet behind you both, their presence placing a heavy rock in your gut. You were unsure of what you could do, you weren’t armed and the most fighting skills you had was the scraps and pieces from when your Dad thought you to fight. They were police too, or at least if they were weapons were going to definitely be included in their knowledge of exceedingly better fighting skills. You decided to bank on their nature, hoping that now you were there they would leave and not cause an issue; it would be peaceful and no one would get hurt.

 

But, as to you why you were putting yourself into such a situation, you hadn’t even a small wisp of an idea. The outcome could be anything, best to worst scenario, everything in this moment was a solid fear. So then why stick yourself into this? Sans said monsters were made of magic, and so you probably could have assumed he would be able to use it. Maybe he was strong enough to protect himself and really you being there was just putting another person in the way of possible crossfire. It didn’t matter what you thought up though, you knew it was wrong, that you had to be there; because someone had to save Sans.

 

Saving Sans however did not mean going into this blindly. “Why are the police following you though, Sans?” You knew what your heart was saying; that Sans needed to be protected right now and he hadn’t done anything wrong. Still didn’t stop you head and its ‘what if’s’.

 

“their supposed to be my ‘escorts’ but they are looking for a really bad day. trust me on this, pal, and get out of here.”

 

“I already said no, Sans. Sorry, buddy, you’re stuck with me.” You looked over and scowled at him. Whatever he was afraid of, you could take it on. You knew there had to be some way out of it. You eventually reached your car, a small start of an idea popping into your mind that if you could get away with it, it might work.

 

You however didn’t get to try your ‘shove Sans in the car and run plan’ as the police officers caught up to you before you were able to get yourself into further trouble. In almost immediate hindsight, it would have been a really bad plan.

 

“Excuse me, this is not the direction of the store.” You relinquished Sans’s arm as you turned to meet the Officer’s gaze. The second one moving to go behind Sans. You didn’t know if it was the downcast of his face or maybe you just weren’t in the right line of site, but you no longer could see the white dots of his eyes. You could start to feel that unease from earlier, the knowing yet forgetting of something important about to happen looming heavily over you shoulders.

 

“Oh, I know! I was thinking we could drive over! I wouldn’t mind it at all, and it would be, uh, easier for me once I finished helping. I don’t mind it at all really!” The officer’s face remained unchanged, his eyes going back and forth between you and Sans.

 

“Sorry, but the monster has to stay with us. We would be glad to take you both in our car.” There it was. You felt nauseous and your mouth went dry. You already knew if you and Sans went in that car, you were not coming back.

 

“Has he done something wrong?!” Your voice cracked slightly, your composure half broken by the weight of what you knew was going to happen. You had to stop them from what they were planning to do, you had to. Even if it felt like you had already tried a dozen times, a dozen different ways to change this, you still had to keep trying. You were desperate.

 

“N-not that is a concern to you.”

 

“But it is! Since I met him it defiantly has become something that involves and concerns me!”

 

You could tell they thought you a freak, but past that you could see the deep scowls on their faces. You were losing this battle, though it wasn’t really much of one. They had the authority, you just had weird dejavu flashes that made you look like a total creep. But your flashes were never wrong, and you knew the malice people could hold in them. You had to try a new angle, there had to be some way of getting out of this.

 

“Just, leave him with me! I’ll watch him and make sure he doesn’t cause any trouble, and then I can bring him back to the camp by the days end. You wont have to be around him!”

 

“Not a possibility.” The one said from behind Sans.

 

“Why? Some monsters are allowed outside right? If you had found him outside of the area when he wasn’t supposed to be, I don’t think you would have let him even be in the store. This is his home, his world too! He shoul-“

 

The air was cut through with sudden radio chatter coming from the intercoms attached to their shoulders and the one in front of you put a finger up for you to stop.

 

You watched in fear, this was different. You didn’t know how it was different but you knew it was. It wasn’t that this was different somehow, that it diverged slightly from where you were sure it was going to lead that scared you. It was more that you could feel the window to save Sans was almost completely gone.

 

“Sorry. Please dispatch a separate unit, we’re currently dealing with a issue.” Hearing only half of the conversation didn’t help.

 

“No. None emergency. No, was not called in.” Chatter and static filled the silence between the pounding noise in your ears.

 

“There was a…concerned citizen…” Again, another long pause and you were not even sure you were breathing anymore.

 

“…Understood.” The Officer looked to his partner and gave him a single nod before turning to you. “There seems to be a matter that is more pressing, and so we will take your offer of leaving the _monster_ in your care.”

 

The policeman from behind Sans walked around him shoving a small folded bunch of papers against his chest, hard enough that you could see Sans flinch.

 

“Good day.” It was the last thing they said as you watched they fall into step with each other and head to their own car.

 

You just stood there, frozen. The nauseous feeling in your stomach started to leave and complete relief was starting as sparks in your heart. Whatever emergency was happening you hoped they were okay and wished you could buy them dinner.

 

It was after you and Sans watched their large van pull out of their spot and drive away, lights flashing, that you started to fully relax. The stress and worry of it all started to leave you, though your skin still tingled and you wanted nothing more than to just lay down in bed for the rest of the day. But that would have to wait, now you would finally get to talk to Sans about what all this was. But, first you wanted to make sure he was kay, the questions weren’t going anywhere anymore.

 

“Sans, are you-“ You had turned back in his directly, hoping to make sure he was okay, to lead him to your car and get him the fuck out of there, but he wasn’t paying attention to you. He was fishing his cell phone out of his pocket and frantically dialing a number.

 

“frisk, you okay buddy?” You were sure you had heard that name before, it sounded like someone you should have known. You were not sure how Sans knew them though.

 

“yeah, i’m fine, don’t worry about me kiddo. just make sure you make it back to toriel’s safely okay?” Sans then let out the loudest sigh of relief you had ever heard anyone push forth from their mouth. “good. glad to hear it, kid.”

 

“i, uh, gatta let you go, kid. i’ve got a play date i’m a couple of days late for.” He pressed one of the buttons on his phone ending the call before shoving it inside his left pocket. “so, what now?”

 

You wished you had some kind of answer or direction of what was next. Less for Sans, more for yourself.


	5. Empty Vial’s and Personal Logs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Personal Log 25. Year 201X, June 27th. Sans and Alphys have made themselves at home in the lab quite quickly. Alphys has asked to take the western storage area and turn it into more of a computer lab. I offered her to be able to use my already established facilities, but once she explained to me the project, I granted her the space. She mostly keeps to herself it seems.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so, I *just* hit my 4k mark and decided to post this a little bit early as a treat for you all and a reward for myself since there is nothing more that I want to do than posy all my chapters!
> 
> I'm currently working towards writing another 2k so I can hit my 6k mark and fully catch up since I did miss the last two days of writing. If I do well...I'm going to be posting a chapter I think will be quite a lot of fun. Or at least it was to write!
> 
> Also, I *love* writing the Gatser Chapters! Gaster is so much fun to write for me and I have a lot of things planned for him!
> 
>  
> 
> And lastly, this is actually really important, I have updated the TAGS. PLEASE take a look at them since I just wrote a future chapter and I want to make sure with it there it enough of a warning since it is not a nice chapter.
> 
> Outside of that, I hope that you all enjoy reading this most recent chapter as much as I did writing it!

_“Personal Log 25. Year 201X, June 27th. Sans and Alphys have made themselves at home in the lab quite quickly. Alphys has asked to take the western storage area and turn it into more of a computer lab. I offered her to be able to use my already established facilities, but once she explained to me the project, I granted her the space. She mostly keeps to herself it seems.”_

_Gaster paused for a moment, diverting his attention to the machine in front of him. Watching the slow rise of different power monitors, flipping the switches when one of them out too high, turning a knob if one got too low. He still needed more time for the machine to be stable._

_“Sans on the other hand is…not what I expected.” The machine started to beep, a red light flashing on the right side of the console. Gaster frowned, groaning that the project was again having issues. The determination tanks were lower than they should be. He moved off towards the specimen storage room, a small hovering sphere following him as he moved._

_“Despite my requests, Sans insists on telling poorly made jokes while in the middle of experiments. Or any time for that matter. Though his magic skills and ability to manipulate space will prove to be extremely helpful, I worry that my patience for bone jokes may grow thin.” Gaster opened one of the fridges, cold clouds of vapor pouring out and spilling about his feet._

_“Still.” Gaster continued as he pulled out a small vial. A red substance splashed about within. It was not a liquid, though its consistency looked as though it was. It was denser and more akin to a solid. Gaster checked the seal on the top, making sure none would spill out. He had learned quickly that if it touched magic it would cause the magical partials to become so heavy they would start to condense into a non-functioning substance. He closed the door and moved back towards the machine. The holes in his hands were the show that sometimes experimenting on one’s self can be quite the detriment._

_“Sans has already proven himself useful in the work on the CORE, picking out a few flaws I had somehow missed in the few plans I did let him view. I believe for now I will tolerate his…jokes, in hopes of the project actually coming to fruition. If he continues to excel, I will brief him on the whole of the project. End log.”_

_Gaster moved back to the panel in front of a large and dark machine. He pressed the light that was blinking, a small metal cover below it slid of out the way and a mostly empty vial, filled with the same red substance, rose slowly from the compartment. Once it was fully out, Gaster plucked it carefully from the locked in place. The seal that was holding it all inside was a combination of thick plastic and metal automatically sealing it. He held the vial up, not remembering using that much since his experiments only needing small amounts. He decided to have Alphys help him with the machine, maybe it had a leak in the sealing compartment._

_He then locked the new vial in, placing the old one on a small table behind him. Returning to his machine, he pressed the buttons and dials he had before, only needing to look at the gauges. He knew the placement of it all by memory. Once he was satisfied with the levels of power, he turned back to the sphere that was still following him._

_“Log 2. Year 201X, November 27th. This is the third test of the DETERMINATION extraction and injection machine. Previous tests the injection was a failure and I have since re-calibrated the injector itself and replaced the controller as to fix the previous issue with a lack of precision. I will now be bringing forth the non-organic matter and begin the test injection.”_

_The machine whirled to life, the sound of electricity and the crackle of magic could be heard about the room. White lights at the head of the device, a metal clamp like mouth with a large needle between them was illuminated by them. The metals pieces moved, several parts twisting and turning over each other as it extended upwards and then bent so the needle was facing down. Once it stopped it had more of a skull like look, holes, tubes, and wires able to be seen from beneath the flat metal exterior. From the monitor Gaster stood at a small dish containing a single rock extended towards a space below the machine. The lights of it allowing even the smallest detail to be seen and the darkest shadow to evaporate._

_“Activating containment chambers.” The splashing of liquid could be heard accompanying the reverberating sound of a pump and motor. Six grey translucent tubes that ran upwards towards the original base started to fill with neon liquids almost as bright as the lights at the face of the machine. The tubes bounced and vibrated as they continued to fill._

_It was once each tube no longer moved and Gaster could see small occasional blue sparks coming from within the machine that he spoke again._

_“Initiating test.” He then pressed a small green button to the left of the console, the machine lowering the needle slowly towards the rock._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, did I mention how much I adore writing Gaster? Cause I do <3
> 
>  
> 
> Also, if you wanna come and follow me on tumblr, say hi, or see the things I post come find me on tumblr!!
> 
> rileywrit.tumblr.com


	6. Pretending Is Okay Too

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “it’s a long story. and even then, i don’t know all of it.”
> 
> “I’ve got the day off, I have time.” Again silence, it didn’t feel like something that should happen as often as it was with Sans. Sure you had only met him technically twice, but something told you that Sans was a normally cheerful guy. For a moment, you wondered if there was a way to get him to smile again like he did back on the hill.
> 
> “okay. but not here. i’ll need a little help telling this story. that is, if you don’t mind?”
> 
> You shrugged, figuring that getting away from here was a good idea anyway. “Why not.” You twisted the keys in the ignition and placed the car into reverse one the engineer was running happily. “So, where are we heading?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I didn't get to my 6K goal for the day, but I feel I've worked hard enough that it would be find to post this chapter anyway. I sadly will probably not post multiple chapters after this set, simply because I will probably not have enough of a chance to keep up with making new chapters and publishing on time.
> 
> I do hope that you enjoy this chapter as well and please don't forget to comment if you have any questions or anything else about the story! You're comments help fuel me with DETERMINATION!
> 
> Edit:  
> I forgot to list the date of the next chapter. So please be ready on 3/11/16 for the upcoming chapter!!
> 
> Edit #2: More super thanks to M_Moonshade for the fonts and editing! If you haven't checked her stories out I suggest you do cause I love her writing <3
> 
> (code was made by La_Temperanza, they are a coding god and you can find it here: http://archiveofourown.org/works/5434577?show_comments=true#comments)

“I’m not sure.” You replied finally to Sans. It was nice of him to have waited so long for you to reply, it was still hard to wrap your head about all the strangeness.

 

“well, i think the car would be a lot more comfortable than out here.” He reached behind his head, quietly pulling the hood over his head till his face was cast in its shadow. “and safer.”

 

“R-right.” You managed to stutter out. You fished your keys from your pocket and scrambled towards the driver’s side door. With two quick turned all the doors automatically unlocked themselves. “There, its open.” You said to Sans before you ducked inside.

 

You waited for him to enter, but for a moment he just stood outside the door not moving. You were about to lean over, unable to see his face, trying to see if everything was alright; maybe even open the door for him. But, you didn’t get the chance as the heard the pop of the door handle and Sans settled himself into the passenger side seat.

 

“you would’ve been killed you know.” Sans said between gritted teeth the moment the door was closed.

 

You wanted to agree with him, but now that it was over and that overwhelming feeling gone, you weren’t sure anymore that you actually had done the right thing. What he said went along with that you felt would happen, but feelings were one thing and facts were another. If you looked at it logically, Sans really could have warranted a police escort, you didn’t really know him. They could have just been really intimidating officers and nothing was going to happen no matter what. You felt like you should trust him, you wanted to trust him, and you wanted to trust yourself.

 

“We don’t know that Sans.”

 

“yes, I do. i remember each bone they broke and every shot they took. its happened enough times. the kid kept going back, kept trying to find a way to make it right. refused to listen to me when I told them not to worry about it…”

 

“Sans, you might know what was going on, what was happening, but I don’t! I need you to explain, Sans, cause I feel like I’m going mad here!”

 

Sans was motionless, eyes shut and a frown on his face. You waited, giving him a chance to explain, to say something, anything, that would make this all make sense. You were starting to wonder if this was a really long weird dream, but you knew it wasn’t. You remembered waking up, and the actual dream you had that night. If it was a dream, then maybe you would have made things be a little less stressful.

 

“it’s a _long_ story. and even then, i don’t know all of it. ”

                                                                                                                                            

“I’ve got the day off, I have time.” Again silence, it didn’t feel like something that should happen as often as it was with Sans. Sure you had only met him technically twice, but something told you that Sans was a normally cheerful guy. For a moment, you wondered if there was a way to get him to smile again like he did back on the hill.

 

“okay. but not here. i’ll need a little help telling this story. that is, if you don’t mind?”

 

You shrugged, figuring that getting away from here was a good idea anyway. “Why not.” You twisted the keys in the ignition and placed the car into reverse one the engineer was running happily. “So, where are we heading?”

 

“the mountain.”

 

“Oh, ah, okay then.” You were not sure what you had been expecting. Of course it would be the mountain, it was where all of his friends and family probably were. You were just glad that you already knew how to get to the base of the mountain. Once the car was back out of the parking spot you threw it into drive and headed off towards the mountain.

 

It was a while until you hit the highway, Sans had decided to remain quiet apparently for their trip. You kept stealing side glances at the skeleton. You felt bad about the whole thing, not just that the moment you both had some breathing room Sans had decided to jump down your throat about ‘putting your life in danger’. No, it was more that he had yet to smile, and the more you thought about it, the more you missed that toothy smile of his.

 

You didn’t know what you could do to even try to make him smile. What could you even say to someone who was so sure they were going to _die_ if those policemen had stayed. You wanted to make him laugh again like you had when you first met him on the hill. ‘However,’ you reasoned with yourself. ‘he doesn’t have to be happy just because I want him to be.’

 

Again you stole another look realizing it wasn’t that you wanted him happy for your sake or because he wasn’t smiling. He looked tired, his shoulders were slumped, his face towards the window just watching the outside world roll by. His hoodie still covering up as much of his as possible. He reminded your of some of the people at your work; too stressed to relax, too desperate to not work, yet somehow clinging that maybe the next day wont be so bad. Whatever it was that was bothering Sans, was deeper than you could even guess at.

 

You let Sans be until you were almost at the base of the mountain, when he decided he would tell you the rest of the directions on getting there. You followed his direction, reading the occasional signs for detours and to avoid the area. It was one you got to the dirt roads and small trail areas that were still open near the mountain that he directed you to park the car. You didn’t know how far away from the campsite you were for the monsters, but as far as you could tell you were both still quite a ways off.

 

As soon as you stopped the car, without saying a word, Sans quickly exited and started to head deeper into the forest.

 

“Hey wait! Sans!” you called out trying to get him to stop. You quickly threw off you seat belt, pushing open the car door and running towards him. “What are you doing? Sans, what the hell, come back!” He sped up his pace and started trying to dart behind some of the trees out of your vision. However his pace was not faster than yours, as so you were able to keep up just a foot behind him.

 

“go home. thanks for the help earlier, but its better if you just turn around now.”

 

“No way! You said you were going to tell me what the fuck was going on!”

 

“i lied! now go!” He continued to try to duck and hide behind a tree, though with your speed it didn’t make much sense since he wouldn’t be able to lose you just cause you lost sight of him for a second. You let that thought be, figuring you would try to understand Sans better later.

 

“No, Sans!” You reached out, just catching up close enough to grab his hand. You fingers stretched out, you were so close to being able to grasp the bones of his writs and stop him from running. You closed your hand, ready to feel the texture of his bleached bones. But you grabbed nothing. Whipping your head back and forth you suddenly found yourself alone, Sans nowhere that you could see.

 

“Sans?! Where are you?!”

 

“just turn around and walk back to your car, buddy.” His voice seemed to be coming from every direction, you started turning around, trying to see if your ears might be able to pick up exactly where he had been able to hide.

 

“No chance! I don’t know _what_ is going on, Sans! But I can’t help if you don’t tell me!”

 

“good.”

 

“No! _Not_ good! Sans, nothing happened but I had this dreading feeling those cops were going to _hurt_ you!”

 

“they were gonna do more than that.”

 

“That just makes it even _worse_! I want to help, Sans! What is so important that you wont let me help you? That you won’t tell me what is going on?! I thought you _wanted_ to talk to me about all of this?!”

 

“what if i told you in one month from now, everyone was gonna die?” You stopped moving, your stomach feeling like a cold, slime covered rock had just came to sit at the bottom.

 

“what if i said that humans and monsters would parish in a day? that no amount of magic would hold it back and no weapon could hurt it? we’ve been trying, and each time we fail and reset again. you’re kind and sweet. i know cause you’ve already been the nicest human i’ve ever met out of any other reset. but this kind of weight, its not easy to hold. i’ve had some time to think and, well, you probably should have never met me.”

 

“I…I don’t understand, Sans. What do you mean by _reset_?”

 

“i’ve already screwed it up more than i should have. just….if you have anyone you want to say goodbye to, anyone you want to see, or even someone you need to let them know that you love them; now is a good time. turn back, go and pretend everything is okay. i don’t know how many more resets _i_ can even take…someone like you doesn’t deserve the fate i have. ”

 

“Sans! Whatever the issue is, tell me I can help! I swear I’ll help!”

 

“goodbye…”

 

“Sans! Please!”

 

“i wont forget you…”

 

“Sans!!”

 

You waited, hoping that he would say something again. Hoping that he wouldn’t leave and that would be able to get him to tell you just what was going on. That he would listen to you, because you could help, you knew you would. Sure, you didn’t know exactly how but, if felt like everything in your life was coming to this point.

 

“Sans?!” you cried out, cupping your hands around your mouth in case he was nearby and would hear you. But there was no reply. You called out a few more times, starting to walk through the trees but you saw no sign of the skeleton. Tears started to form at the corners of your eyes, but you rubbed them away, heading back towards your car. If he didn’t want your help, then so be it.

 

There was a deep pain pulsing inside of you, an ache or a burn for something, but you couldn’t place it. All you knew was that you were so close that time; so very, very close. Once you were back in your car, a place you felt safe and secluded, you let that pain out even if you didn’t understand why it hurt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you wanna follow me, come say hi, or get updates when I post a new chapter, come follow me on my tumblr!
> 
> rileywrit.tumblr.com


	7. Red Linoleum

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **WARNING**  
> This is a Chara chapter, it contains child abuse, violence, and blood.
> 
> You smiled. It had finally stopped raining and you hopped the thin blanket laying on you would finally give you enough of a barrier that you could sleep. If you and be able to gather a little more sleep than normal, then maybe you would be able to escape a beating or two. Your arm still hurt from a few days ago, you didn’t want to be even more incapacitated if you could help it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **WARNING**  
> This is a Chara chapter, it contains child abuse, violence, and blood.
> 
> So, I decided that, with the rate I'm currently pumping out chapters I think I can easily maintain putting out two chapters a week, which is the opposite that I thought I would be able to do really. SO, every Monday and every Friday I will put out a new chapter. If I do fall behind then I'll move it back to Friday's only, but I think with this it will make everyone happy with chapter output and story intake!!
> 
> Big shout-out to M_Moonshade for the help with the story on many levels and showing me where to find the Sans/Papyrus font code and the editing!! 
> 
> (code was made by La_Temperanza, they are a coding god and you can find it here: http://archiveofourown.org/works/5434577?show_comments=true#comments)

_You smiled. It had finally stopped raining and you hopped the thin blanket laying on you would finally give you enough of a barrier that you could sleep. If you and be able to gather a little more sleep than normal, then maybe you would be able to escape a beating or two. Your arm still hurt from a few days ago, you didn’t want to be even more incapacitated if you could help it._

_With a lot of tossing and turning, trying to keep warm between the drenched blanket and the small slab of concrete, you managed to get a few minutes of sleep; maybe even an hour. You were not entirely sure how long you had managed to rest._

_You were faded in the black of sleep when you heard the door slam from inside of the house. Your entire body went tense and sprang up from your laying position to standing. Inwardly you smiled, you felt more refreshed than normal, maybe today would be a good day._

_“Where the FUCK is my coffee?!?” You could hear your mom scream from inside mixed with violent stomping about the house. You could taste bile suddenly in your mouth as your stomach churned. Shit, maybe it wouldn’t be a good day. You had forgotten to set the coffee maker the night before._

_You carefully opened the door, trying not to make a noise, as you peeked into the kitchen. You didn’t see any sight of your mom or her boyfriend so you assumed it would be safe. As quickly as your legs would manage, you broke into a run and made a flying leap onto the only somewhat clear part of the counter. You knocked over a black porcelain container that held sugar. It didn’t break or spill, which was good, but still it made noise. You had to hurry or she would be in there any second._

_You scrambled over the dirty dishes and various old take-out boxes, reaching towards the coffee maker, flipping it on. You could hear the sudden hiss of the old heating pad as the electricity coursed through it. Now all you needed to do would be to get off the counter and get back outside before-_

_Your entire body was suddenly yanked from the counter, the voice of your mother was shrill in your ears but you weren’t able to fully catch what she was saying. You felt something impact the left side of your face as she dangled you above the floor, your nose crunched under the weight. Before you could gain any kind of barring you were thrown, skidding across the ground. You knew you were probably leaving a bloody trail._

_“What are you doing inside? Why isn’t my fucking coffee already made?”_

_"I didn't make it yet." Your words were calm and quiet. You spoke loud enough for her to hear, you just never liked to speak very loudly._

_You weren't scared, in fact you never felt scared of her. When she did things like this, sure you felt pain, sure you wanted to avoid it if you could; but you were never afraid. You stopped feeling scared a long time ago. You just wished she hadn't hurt you as badly as she did. Otherwise, well, maybe you would have had the strength to finds some kind of weapon._

_You could feel her footsteps vibrate the flake linoleum that was slowly being coated in your blood. As soon as she came to stop beside you she placed a sharp kick into your stomach, your back hitting the wall from the force. The wind in your chest left you and the pain forced you to curl up on yourself. Tears started to form at the corners of your eyes. You hated yourself for crying. It was a weakness, you knew it would only make her smile and hurt you more. She loved to see you weak._

_"You little shit what did I tell you about not fucking making my fucking coffee?"_

_You coughed and sputtered as you tried to get air into your body. It was hard to not inhale the clotting liquid into your already spazzing lungs as it dripped from your face. You needed to be able to get your ability to breathe back so that you could answer her. You already knew she was readying to land another kick into you if you didn't. You didn't exactly mind entertaining the idea of death, but then you wouldn't ever have the chance to return the favor to her._

_"It...shou-ld be..ready...when you wake..." You managed to force out of your body, unsure where you were able to draw the breath from._

_"Ding, ding, we have a fucking winner! So next time don't fucking make me wait for my god damned coffee!"_

_She then stomped off back towards the end of the trailer, muttering something along the lines of kids and how they just take up space. You could feel the blood start to clot in your nose instead of just on your face; you were glad that you probably wouldn't be bleeding out today. Once you could suck in air without much pain, you sat up. You could feel your left eye swelling, but it wasn't causing too much of a sight impairment. With a sigh, you pulled yourself up from the floor and being careful not to make too much noise, did your best to clean your face with some old, half drank water from a cup left on the counter._

_Once you were clean enough you started to rummage through the drawers slowly. You were hoping for your long searched for treasure. A small glimmer of hope that always burned in your heart each time you were able to be inside for any length of time. If she came in, you would probably tell her you were looking for towels or maybe pretend to be dumb saying you wanted to find the mugs._

_Upon reaching the last drawer you scowled. She hid them from you, there was no other explanation. Did she know you had been looking? Did she maybe catch the few stray smiles you made at the sight of blood? You didn't know, but you wouldn't be able to search anything else but the kitchen for now. You turned around, staring down the hallway she had left through, wondering just where she had hid the knives._


	8. Alternating Replay

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This was your first time watching the episode, there was no way you could have known what was going to happen. You cautiously placed your bowl on the table, hands shaking and your breath shallow. You were not sure, but you could even just barely remember that you always would place the bowl down at this point. Like everything else that was happening right then; it felt like it was just supposed to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Chapter Release: 3/14/2016
> 
> And finally we're getting to the other characters of the story! I hope that you all enjoy this story and are excited for the next chapter on Monday! 
> 
> Don't forget to leave feedback if you want to! I love hearing from you all as I keep working on this story!! <3

This was your first time watching the episode, there was no way you could have known what was going to happen. You cautiously placed your bowl on the table, hands shaking and your breath shallow. You were not sure, but you could even just barely remember that you always would place the bowl down at this point. Like everything else that was happening right then; it felt like it was just _supposed to_.

 

‘How many…’ It was a thought that crossed your mind, but you were not sure what it was in reference to. But you relished in the feeling that it was for sure new, original, and that you knew it had not been thought of before now.

 

You needed to get out and not just because of the crawling feeling all over your body. You knew you needed to find someone, that there was someone out there who knew what was going on. You were done guessing and hiding, you wanted to know what this was and why it _kept_ happening; even if you didn’t really know what it was you were referring to. You grabbed your keys and bolted out the door, unsure where your determination was coming from for it, but you figured it didn’t matter, you just needed to act before you lost more time. There was a sickly feeling in your gut telling you that there wasn’t much time at all.

 

It was only after you started driving that you realized that you didn’t really have a direction of where you should go or look. You were not even sure who you were looking for. You just remembered some impressions of this guy you met, maybe once? Twice? It was almost like trying to find a stranger you had only met by a glance on the subway a week ago. It was impossible, but you knew you had to find him.

 

There was a pang in your heart as you quietly wished you could remember his name.

 

You decided that pulling over would be a better choice for the moment, until you figured out where you should go. Blindly running about might do a little good, but then again any effort would be good effort. You didn’t want to waste your time, to let whatever was creating this urgency and fear in you to win.

 

You could still feel the lasting feeling of deja vu, the more you thought about it the more you hoped you would be changing that soon. There was a deep seed in you that kept trying to tell you it was anything but deja vu. You shook your head, there was no time to dwell on it, you could do that later. You went back to your choices of places you could look, the small cliff on the hill you loved, your work place, the store, they all felt like they would just be disappointments. Especially the cliff, though you were not sure why it would be.

 

You thought of the mountain, as you often did now days it seemed, wondering if maybe by chance he was there. It didn’t feel like a place you had ever been, but the idea of going there was definitely not new. They still had it all blocked off, stopping anything from going in or out. Or at least that was what they kept saying on the news.

 

You sat in your car thinking, searching you mind for any and all other places you could go. None of them felt right; only the mountain seemed to be sticking on the forefront. But you knew you couldn’t go there, the chances of you getting lost were pretty much promised. If you got in there far enough there was no way you would make it back.

 

“Fuck it.” You said after waiting what you figured was too long to make a decision. You were going to the mountain, you were getting past the man-made barricade, and you were going to find this guy. You even felt like tacking on ‘even if it killed you’, because you were not going to give up. You quickly turned around and sped off towards the mountain, hoping that maybe along the way you could come up with some kind of plan.

 

It took you a while to get to the base of the mountain, going until you were no longer driving familiar roads. You started to follow the weird sixth sense you seemed to be developing as of late. However, as you drove in deeper, following offshoot dirt trails just large enough for your car, you found that sense to be less and less trustworthy. Eventually, you didn’t know where you were and the only way you could tell what direction you were headed was because you could still see the sun through some of the branches.

 

“Gah!” You cried out, venting some of your slowly building anger. “Where the fuck are you? How hard is it to find a community of monsters in the mountains?!”

 

You were glad you were alone in the car for after your outburst you felt quite silly. The mountain was probably quite a number of miles just in circumference around the case of it. You were having to backtrack on some roads guessing at which ones you might have come from and the trees so thick you couldn’t see between them to try and find some semblance of a marker.

 

You spent hours searching and soon found yourself on the East side of the mountain once again. You had tracked each area at least once and guessed that you had probably been around the base twice. You found it strange that you hadn’t even found the police barricades yet even though you would be sure one of the trails would have lead right to them. You stopped the car and let out a long groan as you lay your head against the steering wheel. Maybe this was hopeless and it wasn’t even worth trying in the first place. You wanted to help and something even deeper knew why but it was currently beyond your understanding and your care to understand that the moment.

 

“Is this really it?” You rose up from resting your head, hands moving in various gestures though there was no one to see them. “I’ve been searching for hours and I don’t even really _know_ what I’m looking for! I mean, I came out here on a _whim_! A really strong and unnerving one, but…fuck…I’m really going crazy, aren’t I?” For a moment you reminded yourself that sometimes it was okay to talk to yourself; it helped order your thoughts and was not a sign of you losing your sanity.

 

You couldn’t just sit there being angry though, and it was very obvious that driving about in the car wasn’t going to help; besides, you were almost out of gas. You let out a sigh, turning off the car and opened the door, figuring getting some fresh air would help. As you looked around, trying to push the deep feeling of defeat away, you wondered how useless of an endeavor it would be if you decided to give hiking a chance. There was the chance you could get lost, or lose the car at least since the woods didn’t allow for much direction. But, you figured you had pretty much reached your second ‘fuck it’ point. It didn’t really feel like it mattered if you ever found the car again or not anyway; that overshadowing fear still skulking about the back of your mind.

 

You shut the door and started to head towards the mountain, clutching the small bit of hope that maybe you might be able to find what you were looking for.

 

Eventually, the sun had gone down, the car was now far behind you lost somewhere to the forgetfulness of the woods. You had spent the rest of the day walking and could feel the blisters on your feet squeeze and threaten to puncture, stinging you in retort of your abuse of them. But you couldn’t stop now, you _had_ to keep going; it didn’t feel like it was your choice anymore. You headed upwards towards the mountainside, knowing they were not at the top but somewhere along its slanted middle. You told yourself that it would be fine, that you would find them and that this wasn’t just a dumb way to accidentally get yourself killed.

 

Hours passed and soon your stomach gave a low growl. You licked your chapping, stinging lips as you attempted to take your mind off your hunger. You mentally cursed yourself for not having the brains to have at least grabbed something to eat before you headed out to the middle of nowhere. You sighed and continued your trek; there was no use dwelling on the past of this morning. You wanted a future you didn’t fear. You wanted to find that guy, whoever he was, and tell him all the reasons why he was horrible even if you didn’t remember them. You wanted things to be how they were supposed to be, you wanted that feeling of home back from when the monsters first burst from mountainside. For yourself, for the monsters, and the humans too; though you bet most of them didn’t know it.

 

Your legs were getting stiff, your feet harder to lift and move. Your body hitting limits that you never knew you had; you had never pushed them this far. You were climbing up part of a small hill that was more like a bump against the mountain’s surface. You were hoping that you would be able to get to it, and use the semi-flat top to maybe sit and rest for a bit. You didn’t make it and as you climbed your heavy feet found a patch of dirt covered with small rocks causing your foot to slip out from under you. You fell, your arms instinctively being thrown out in front of you to break your fall. It didn’t hurt much, the dirt luckily being soft, but once you lost your footing the rest of you did as well. You hadn’t even fully realized you were tumbling down the incline till you were already half way down from where you had started.

 

Eventually, you came to a rolling stop, counting yourself lucky that you managed to not hit any of the trees around you. You lifted yourself slightly off the ground, looking back at the incline of the mountainside. Sure, you only slid about twenty feet, but right now that was twenty less feet that you had. You were exhausted, hungry, and out of hope that you would find anyone. You cursed quietly to yourself. Why on earth did you think it was a good idea to get lost in the fucking woods? Sure, ‘end of the world’ feelings were not something you had often, but this was just ridiculous even for you. Why it took an entire day to realize that you didn’t know.

 

Your face was growing hot against the cold open air of the mountain, little pricks of hot liquid pooling at your eyes. It didn’t matter now, you had tried, failed, and probably would next lose any hope of getting home. You could see the stars shining above and the only thing you wanted to do was to find a place to rest somehow and try to get back to the car in the morning. You probably wouldn’t find it, but it was the last sliver of hope you had; you figured you could at least pretend to hold onto that, right?

 

You rubbed the wet from your eyes, doing your best not to rub too much dirt into your face, and glanced around. From you high advantageous spot on the ground you looked for something that would resemble shelter; to tired to and hurt to pull yourself up off the ground to make a better effort of searching. It was all tiny hills and slopes leading upwards towards the mountain. No caves or some kind of built in shelter that you could see from your vantage point. You groaned, covering your face with your arms, as you cursed movies for setting unrealistic expectations of when one was lost.

 

‘Maybe I’ll just lay here and feel like garbage till the sun comes up…’ You thought, it really was the only alternative you could do. You moved close to a tree that was just a few feet away, using the thick truck as some break against the cold of the night, as you did your best to sleep hoping you could be home sometime tomorrow.

 

It was hours later that you finally did manage to drift off. But by then you didn’t notice the figure that had come to join you on the ground.

 

It was the first pin pricks of light that woke you up, shining against your closed eyes. You wanted to move away from them, but your body was too stiff and sore to want to. Eventually, the desire for more sleep despite the horrible conditions forced you to move just enough that the sun wouldn’t be in your eyes.

 

It was then that your body bumped into something very soft, warm, and gave out a quiet ‘oh’ at your sudden push into whoever it was. You suddenly sprang to life, startled by the unexpected person. You threw yourself back, jumping up from your laying position and throwing your back against the tree. Your heart was beating rapidly in your chest and ears and you looked down at what had come to lay beside you in the night.

 

It was….you believed to be one of the monsters. His entire body was a semi-translucent white except for the black that made up his face and eyes. He reminded you of the color the barrier was, but it seemed more solid and with substance; if that could even be a thing. The monster looked like a cartoon ghost almost, simple and homely. As you watched him, unsure what to do, you noticed tears that started to form at his eyes.

 

“Oh no! No, no, I’m sorry!” You said dropping to the ground to be at the monster’s level. “I didn’t mean to upset you! I just wasn’t expecting anyone else here!”

 

“Oh…” The ghost replied as tears continued to fall. “I’ll just be on my way then…”

 

“No!” They were the first living sentient creature you had come into contact with since you came to the mountain, if they left then you really were out of hope. “No please! I’m lost and I’m trying to-“ You then saw the tears were still falling from the ghosts face, his eyes not meeting yours. You heart sank knowing it was your fault the poor creature was crying.

 

“Oh, dear. I scared you pretty bad didn’t I?” His eyes darted to meet yours before moving away again from your gaze. “Here.” You scooted closer, leading forward to wipe the tears away from his face, giving him a small smile. You were happy when he didn’t move away, letting you touch his face. Once all of his tears were gone, you sat back down. “What’s your name?”

 

“…Napstablook…” He said, still an almost whisper. It was an odd name, but you liked it. It also reminded you of a name you had heard a long time ago, but couldn’t place where you had heard it.

 

“That’s a really cool name! It’s nice to meet you, Napstablook.”

 

“You think my name is cool?”

 

“Yeah, I do! How often does someone have a name like that?”

 

“Oh…” Napstablook looked away from you, still with a sad look on his face. You tried your best to keep a frown coming to your own, you wished there was some way to cheer him up more. “Are all humans nice like you and Frisk?” Well, though he still looked sad, at least he was talking to you. You just wished he would have asked a different question. You thought about how you were going to answer him; unsure if you should lie and tell him everyone was or if you should tell him the truth. You decided to go with the truth.

 

“Well…to be honest, maybe not _all_ humans. But, there are a bunch of them that are nice too! It’s impossible to throw everyone into the same category really.”

 

“Oh…I see…” His gaze moved back to your face, studying it for a moment. You started to feel a little uneasy, smiling a little more and letting out a small laugh to try ease the discomfort.

 

“Well, I better get going if I’m going to find my way home. It was good to meet you, Napstablook. I hope I do again.”

 

You turned towards the tree you had been sleeping against earlier, using it to pull your sore and tired body up from the ground. With the light you should be able to find a way to get home and maybe later you’d be able to get the police to help you find your car; as long as you could avoid the trouble for trying to find the monster’s campgrounds. You were finally standing, carefully leaned against the tree still as you did what you could to brush the dirt off your jeans.

 

“But…you’re lost, right? What are you doing out here?” You stopped mid brush to look back down at Napstablook who was still watching you.

 

“Yeah…kinda.” That was an understatement, but you didn’t want to feel like you were pressuring Napstablook into anything. He floated up so that he could be at your eye level. You could see his face was unchanged, and you wondered if he was just kind of perpetually sad. “I was…trying to find someone.”

 

“Who?”

 

“Ya know, I’m not even sure…”

 

“Would you want to follow me? You don’t have to if you don’t want to. But you can.” He said in a weird, almost chipper tone in comparison to his saddened face.

 

“You know the way out?” It was the best news you had heard in the past 24 hours. Though you would never make it to the monster’s camp, at least the prospect of dying in the forest wasn’t a possibility.

 

“No…” Nevermind, you were probably going to die here following a ghost who was just as lost as you. “But I can bring you back to the camp. There are sometimes other humans that come to visit. They would know the way out.”

 

Napstablook was very lucky you were as tired as you were, otherwise you probably would have wrapped that wonderful little ghost into the biggest hug you had ever given anyone.


	9. Promises

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Napstablook was a very sweet ghost you decided. He never moved faster than you could manage and even seemed to be quite cheerful despite his perpetual frown. Eventually you got the nerve to ask why he had decided to sleep near you, in the middle of the woods. Apparently when he saw you laying on the ground he thought it looked like fun, and so he joined you. As silly as it was the fact that it was such a simple answer was said so honestly put you at ease. You continued to ask him questions finding he fun and easy to talk with; willing to if not eager for the conversation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is about 30 minutes late!! I was a bit behind on getting this edited tonight. I also plan to have a bonus chapter being posted shortly after this one so please look for that one as well!
> 
> Next update will be: 3/18/2016
> 
> Hope you enjoy this chapter as much as I loved writing it!!

Napstablook was a very sweet ghost you decided. He never moved faster than you could manage and even seemed to be quite cheerful despite his perpetual frown. Eventually you got the nerve to ask why he had decided to sleep near you, in the middle of the woods. Apparently when he saw you laying on the ground he thought it looked like fun, and so he joined you. As silly as it was the fact that it was such a simple answer was said so honestly put you at ease. You continued to ask him questions finding he fun and easy to talk with; willing to if not eager for the conversation.

 

“Really, magic huh?”

 

“Uh-uh. Though, as a ghost I’m a bit different.”

 

“Wait, so you’re not a monster?”

 

“N-no. Is that okay?” Alarm bells seemed to go off in your head as you tried to backpedal. The last thing you wanted to do was upset him. You decided you would try to be more careful if it was at all possible.

 

“Oh! Yes, of course it is okay! Why wouldn’t it be?”

 

“Well…the monsters don’t always like us ghosts.”

 

“That’s horrible! You’re so kind why wouldn’t they like you!” Napstablook stopped and turned around, his face seeming a bit flush.

 

“No, they’re not that bad! They had a reason a long time ago, but they’ve let it go now.” You blinked a few times, unsure of what to make of Napstablook’s vague statement.

 

“What happened, if you don’t mind me asking?”

 

“I…don’t remember…But it was something really bad, something that my cousins and I did. They’ve forgiven us for the most part now so it’s not something to worry about, really.”

 

“You have cousins! How many of you are there?”

 

“Not many, just five of us left now…”

 

“Just five? Were there many of you before?”

 

“There were only seven to begin with…”

 

“What happened to the other two then?” At first you thought it might be due to age or something, but that would be assuming the ghosts aged. Ghosts would be those of the undead, right? So, how would a ghost even be hurt in the first place let alone disappear. You started to feel worried for Napstablook and their relationship with the monsters. You hoped that you were still making the right choice trying to come out here and find them.

 

“They…disappeared, no one has seen them in a couple hundred years now…The last time anyone did was when we all first met the monsters.” Napstablook’s eyes widened slightly, his body moving towards you suddenly and his voice in a panic. “But that was a long time ago now! The monsters don’t hate us anymore and even some of them have become very good friends of mine…” Your hunch was indeed right, the monsters had done something to the poor ghosts. Though you were not entirely sure how you go about killing a ghost.

 

“Nasptablook, just cause I’m curious, why would they even want to hurt you?” Napstablook was quiet for a while, eyes watching the ground in thought. When he spoke it was quiet and thoughtful.

 

“...They told us we had to do with the barrier. But, none of us remembered what had happened. They were angry and hurt, being forced to live down there.” You could see tears start to form at Napstablook’s eyes again as he continued. “You…you should forgive them. It wasn’t a fate they wanted and out here is so much better than being underground. They were just doing what they thought was right and when they realized it wasn’t, they made up for it. So, please…”

 

Tears were free falling from Napstablook’s face as he spoke. You let your arms be limp at your sides as cold invisible pain seeped through you. Your heart went out to Napstablook, but he wasn’t wrong in what he said. The monsters were intelligent, emotional creatures too. If it had been humans that were trapped below the surface then couldn’t the same happen? It was something anyone in the same situation might do; react with anger and pain. Besides, everyone makes mistakes and you knew you had no right to be some outside judge deciding who was wrong and right; not for a past you were not there for.

 

“I will, Napstablook, and I’m sorry for making you upset again…But, I’m glad everything is okay now. Right?” Napstablook blinked away his tears and gave you a little smile and a nod. “So, what do you say? Wanna take me to go meet your friends?” You spoke with a smile that was gentle and sincere.

 

“Yeah…that would be nice.”

 

With a nod you again followed Napstablook through the forest. You asked him more about the monsters and what they were like, finding him telling you that they were all very nice most of the time. They cared a lot about the other monsters, even if they weren’t family. You guessed it was probably because they had been stuck under the ground with so few others for company. He told you what he knew of their own legends and stories of what was supposed to come to pass; though it seemed their legend came to be fulfilled already. He told you about the child named Frisk that had come to the underground and that he was the reason the barrier was able to be broken.

 

The more you talked with Napstablook the more you felt you were actually getting somewhere for once; compared to why you couldn’t truly remember.

 

It was after a few hours of long hiking and resting when you finally made it to the outskirts of the monster camp with Napstablook. You wished that you could be in less pain when the brown skinned tents came into view for you would have leap with joy at finally achieving what felt to be an impossible goal. Things were finally looking up, that feeling of repetition finally ebbing away, and you had made a new friend in it all. Now you just needed to follow Napstablook into the camp, find the guy you’re looking for and-

 

“h u m a n…” There was a flash of blue light in front of you. You didn’t know when it happened, but there was suddenly a skeleton in a blue parka standing ten feet from you. His eye sockets pitch black and hollow.

 

“t u r n   b a c k   n o w.”

 

You _knew_ him. _He_ was the one you had been looking for. Everything in you screamed that it was him, that you found him. But you couldn’t remember his name. Maybe if you could show him you meant no harm, that you only wanted to help, then maybe he wouldn’t be so angry. You searched your mind, holding onto the feelings that bubbled up as you watched him. He was frightening now, but…you could feel a sense of laughter and belonging when you looked at him. You focused on it, until you were almost lost to the feeling.

 

“h u m a n, this is your l a s t warning…”

 

You could feel a pain deep inside of you as you continued to try and pull forth the memories you knew were there. They had to be there, they existed and you knew it. You finally let yourself be lost to the want to remember and the pain of pulling it forth. Something inside of you snapped and broke away, a sudden flood of forgotten memories crashing against the inside of your head. Through the blinding pain you remembered the hill, the jokes, the warmth of his smile.

 

You remembered his name.

 

“Sans?” He was quiet, he didn’t move or speak and again you could see the white lighting up his eyes as they were supposed to. But the laps in his anger didn’t last.

 

“i said t u r n b a c k.”

 

Bits and pieces of more distant memories trickled into your mind’s mental eye, broken and fogged but there. Between the smaller memories were larger ones, of the supermarket and how much danger you really were in. You remembered all the times you failed and the aftermath of it all. It was twenty-eight times. Out of those, fourteen ended just as badly for you. You refused to dwell on those memories for fear of the nausea quickly twisting your empty gut.

 

In all of the memories you only remembered Sans; only times you and him were together. You still had no idea why you were so afraid of what was to come in the next couple of months. No clues or hints at the possible deadly fate. You placed your hands to your head from the pain trying to right yourself, to see if maybe through it all you could remember more. It felt as though each side of your brain was trying to pull away from the other. You decided to stop and wait for it to subside, the pain becoming too much for you to handle the more you pushed. When you finally were able to focus again, doing what you could to wade through the muck of the leftover agony. You looked ahead, hoping nothing had happened while you were temporarily incapacitated.

 

Napstablook hovered protectively between you and Sans, despite him not looking like the best protector with white ghost tears falling down his face. You were pretty sure Napstablook wouldn't pose much of a blockade for Sans, but you were sure Sans would hurt him either. If your memories were correct the Sans you knew was a kind hearted soul, a lover of bad puns, and bad comedy. You believed no one who can appreciate a bad pun was any kind of 'bad guy'. You just had to convince him to let you help. You didn't trudge through a forest dehydrated and half-starved to leave now empty handed.

 

"Sans…I remember. Maybe not all of it, but I remember enough to know that you won't hurt me. I want to help, Sans! I _know_ I can help! I don't get why you don't want to let me do that."

 

"...napstablook," Sans moved his gaze towards the shivering ghost, tears welling at the corners of his eyes. Sans’s shoulders relaxed and the lights returned to Sans’s eyes. "do me a favor, buddy, and head back into camp."

 

"N-no...Sans. They’re nice like Frisk! You shouldn't..."

 

"i won’t, napstablook. i just need to talk to them alone for a while."

 

Napstablook was quiet, his ghostly body still shivering. The two kept eyes locked, silently, as though communicating through the vibrations of their existence. Without a word, Napstablook faded from sight and you were left alone with Sans.

 

"you shouldn't talk about that around the others. they don't remember, and its better if they continue like that."

 

"That's what you thought for me too right?” Sans refused to answer you and instead kept his gaze adverted from where you stood. “Sans, I don't know how it is for you, but if its anything like whatever I’ve been feeling, you can't escape the emotions with each, uh…repeat?" You could feel your palms start to sweat again, you knew so little and here you were trying to convince the guy who knew everything of what was going on that you were on equal footing enough for him to finally accept help.

 

"Wait, you mentioned something called a 'reset', is _that_ what is happening?" Sans still didn't say anything, his body unmoved and his face holding his perpetual smile. You needed to get him to respond to you, somehow. Otherwise what was the point in traveling all the way here?

 

"Okay, okay. Look, Sans, I get it. I understand why you wouldn't want anyone to remember. I...honestly I haven't really caught up with these memories. But they happened and yet haven’t at the same time, right? Then, it doesn't change that I remember. No one has memories of a time that just doesn’t exist without a reason, Sans. I want to help. I _have_ to help. You can't keep trying to do this alone, Sans."

 

Sans turned his head towards you showing that he was listening, and that was more than what he seemed to do the last time you saw him. You couldn't remember the ‘resets’ between and when each one actually took place. You assumed it had been quite a few 'resets' since searching through the forest all _felt_ like you had done it before. Hell, the whole town felt like a replay of an old show yesterday. You wondered how long you had really spent searching. It could have been ten, it could have been ten thousand.

 

"Sans...give me a chance. Because either you can, or you’re going to have to deal with me wondering around the woods trying to find you each reset. I'm not going to give up, Sans. Whatever is coming, there has to be a way we can fix this."

 

"...ya know,” His voice cutting through the trees, the deepness of it making your shiver. “i'm honestly really jealous of you and the kid. maybe its just something you humans have that we monsters lack. i really want to trust you, i do-"

 

"Then _trust_ me, Sans! Or, at least, give me a chance to earn that trust?"

 

Again, you were met with silence. You waited, partly because you wanted to give him time to be able to make his choice; the other half of it was you were starting to feel woozy. Probably from the lack of food and water, you figured, but you could deal with that later. Right now there wasn’t anything more important. With this, maybe you and he could really start making a difference. Maybe then things would be able to feel original again.

 

It was after sometime that you heard Sans muttered then something. It was hardly a whisper and maybe if you were more focused you would have been able to hear what he said. You shook your head, trying to bring yourself together a bit more so you could at least finish the conversation.

 

"Sorry, what did you say?"

 

"nothing, just...promise me something?" You cringed inwardly at the word; you were horrible at keeping promises.

 

"Well, I can try but I'm really bad at keeping them…but if it will make it so you'll let me help; then I'll do it."

 

"promise me that you won't die again..."

 

You could feel your whole body go cold, like slow crawling ice about your skin. That was right, you had died already, many times in fact. You really didn't want to remember any of it though; not now at least. But if that situation was to ever happen again, how were you supposed to stop them when you're held down? Your gut twisted, wanting you to dry heave. You did what you could, forcing yourself not to count the times Sans probably watched you die as you struggled to get your body back under control.

 

You turned your mentality back to Sans’s request. It was definitely one of those promises you wanted to keep. Not just for him, but yourself as well. But you were just not sure what the future may hold, especially if there were going to be any repeats of what happened before there would be no way you could keep that promise. It all made you uneasy.

 

"I..don't know if I can do that one, Sans. But I can promise you…I'll try."

 

Sans shrugged, a sad boney smile held on his face. "i guess that’s the most i can ask for, huh?"


	10. Magic and Birthrights

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Yze ezolj, Dlyd. T’x yze ty esp xzzo."
> 
> "uh...sorry /tibia/ pain in the neck, but I couldn't really understand you there Gaster."
> 
> Graster sighed, that was right, as an effect of his birthright it was impossible for anyone to understand him; even if he could understand them perfectly fine. Sure, he could teach others to be able to read some of the things he wrote, but speaking wasn't something he could simply teach to someone else. Luckily, he had stumbled upon a human created language of ASL. Gaster gave it to the King, as to make his communications between them easier. It was merely a byproduct that his distributed it throughout the kingdom. It was good though, it allowed the monsters which had the same troubles be able to more fluidly communicate. It also made getting food from the store much easier.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I'm posting this chapter in celebration of me hitting 50,000k words in the chapters I have written so far for this story!! Yes, most of them have not been published but this was my first big goal that I have gotten! There are currently a total of 18 chapters made and almost ready to go!
> 
> I hope that you all enjoy this bonus chapter as a present from me for your continued reading and support and I hope you all enjoy this fun little Gaster chapter!
> 
> I have yet to truly edit it so I will be doing that tomorrow, but I wanted to do this and so here it is!
> 
> Next update is: 3/18/2016
> 
> Edit: (UPDATE: 3/24/16) Updated and corrected Gaster's cipher. Should translate correctly now! :3

_" hey, buddy. why so bonely?"_

_Gaster cringed at the horrible joke before slowly turning around towards Sans. He had been working on a simple completely enclosed mini bio-dome as a way to relax. The stress from the tests and their lack of success had been weighing on him as of late. Or, maybe it was the quickly disappearing vials of determination. Either way, Gaster respected Sans, but he was not in the mood._

_"Yze ezolj, Dlyd. T’x yze ty esp xzzo."_

_" uh...sorry /tibia/ pain in the neck, but I couldn't really understand you there Gaster."_

_Graster sighed, that was right, as an effect of his birthright it was impossible for anyone to understand him; even if he could understand them perfectly fine. Sure, he could teach others to be able to read some of the things he wrote, but speaking wasn't something he could simply teach to someone else. Luckily, he had stumbled upon a human created language of ASL. Gaster gave it to the King, as to make his communications between them easier. It was merely a byproduct that his distributed it throughout the kingdom. It was good though, it allowed the monsters which had the same troubles be able to more fluidly communicate. It also made getting food from the store much easier._

_Gaster signed to Sans, informing him that he was not in the mood for such childish jokes._

_" awe, come on gaster. everyone likes to have their funny bone tickled."_

_Gaster frowned, quickly signing a simple 'not me' to Sans, before turning back to his project. He heard an audible sigh from the skeleton behind him followed by the scuffing sound of slippers. Gaster's face tightened at the noise, he was still bewildered that Sans had managed to be able to get away with wearing them in the lab by saying they were 'therapeutic'._

_" so, what ya working on there?"_

_"L Xtyt-Mtzdaspcp. Ted…" Gaster paused, realizing his laps. “Dzccj.”Gaster mumbled, more to himself than Sans before signing to him once again._

_He explained that it was a Mini-Biosphere. It was a self-sustaining tiny eco-system that was able to be fueled with just small amounts of spatial magic. No need for metals or plastics. With just enough water, dirt, and bacteria in a week it would turn into a tiny forest of different small molds; and if Gaster was feeling really adventurous he would place a few seeds inside and study their growth in such small containers of glass. It was miraculous what plants could do within a volume of 904.75 centimeters._

_" woah, gaster, that's pretty damn impressive! how are you getting to even make magic work like that?"_

_Gaster smiled, this was what made Sans bearable. He was just as inquisitive as Gaster felt himself to be. Past all the puns and jokes was a competent scientist expanding the study of magic._

_Gaster waved his right hand in the air towards the sphere, pushing his magic to reach out and grab the sphere. He hadn't yet sealed in all the components and as long as he didn't physically touch it the chances of contamination were very slim. A green haze encased the object, lifting it up to the space between him and Sans. With the movement of just a few fingers the sphere separated. Each piece of the project was now floating on its own allowing Gaster to show Sans a complete breakdown of each portion. From the small half sphere of compacted dirt to the small river of water that was made to perpetually flow._

_" and you call this a side project? gaster, this is pretty ground breaking you know that right?" Gaster laughed, his voice echoed about the lab. His voice was already a naturally odd echo in and of itself so the reverberations of the sound could be felt about the room._

_With a grin Gaster informed Sans that though the small sphere was indeed new and could potentially have many purposes, it was nothing compared to the real project. The spheres were more tests and very minute implications of the spatial magic he's been studying. There were others he had been using for time magic as well. Though, Gaster's smile faltered as he continued, the spheres were the farthest he had been able to get with the spatial magic while his own ability with time implications already met his needs._

_" huh. mind if i give it a try? i mean, i'd have to be missing a couple of bones in the head not to know that's why you hired me." Sans gave Gaster a wink._

_Gaster replied saying he would be happy for Sans's help. Though, he was originally hired for the experiments they had been doing with determination, Gaster may have had a few personal desires in the hiring process as well; throwing in a wink of his own at the end._

_" you sly dog."_

_Gaster then started to fully explain the magic behind it. He referenced some of the more basic stuff just to make sure Sans's knew where he was going with it all. He explained that, monsters are natural manipulators of space. They can take their own energy and use it to manipulate the molecules about them, allowing them to be able to create things like bones and pellets to attack with. But, the magic that was making the water move was also spatial. While normally the magic doesn't last longer then what the monster who created it can hold it for, there is a way to tweak it so it’s not only drawing from the monster's abilities, but from the energy around the object as well._

_Gaster explained he had never been good at making objects or solid structures outside of himself. The more he was able to do had been simple lasers. He suddenly paused and shook his head, apologizing for he realized he had quite easily gotten off track._

_" no worries, gaster. so, with manipulating the actual molecule, where does that leave us?"_

_Repulsion, Gaster signed. It was not only the water but the dirt as well that he had changed. It was subtle, but he made it so the water would create its own inertia through the vibration of some of the molecules. They would vibrate and move in only one direction. It took more energy, but the non-magic molecules around them would supply it. The dirt would also be a self-generating energy conduit for the water so it would never stop. With the right exchange rate, it wouldn't matter how much of a incline there might be, the water would always move in one direction._

_" hehe, well let me just /lumbar/ up a bit here." _

_Gaster groaned, though he might find a friend in Sans, the jokes were going to be hard to endure. However, Gaster would be lying if he said they didn't sometimes make him smile. Sans bent his fingers back, each joint making a small cracking sound. Both of his eyes started to glow a deep blue, small ember like flicks of magic emanating out of them. Sans stretched out his left hand, the same blue hue enveloping some of the parts that Gaster had still been holding._

_" alright, here we go."_

_As Sans started to work, bumbling around a bit trying to figure out the method that Gaster had used, he quickly gained more control. It was many hours later, Gaster and Sans both working with wide grins on their faces as they looked at their new bio-sphere that was large enough to fit at least two good sized trees and several bushes. Gaster kept telling Sans repeatedly how impressed he was; occasionally verbally, but most of the time in ASL after being reminded. Gaster decided he would have to work on his ASL a bit more, so he could get used to using it again; it really had been a long time since he last has someone to talk to. It was half finished, the water was finally moving in the correct direction instead of all directions, and the dirt had finally started to generate on the proper frequency._

_All in all, it was more than Gaster had ever done on his own with it in several months._

_" now /that/ deserves a celebration!"_

_Gaster flinched a little, quickly signing that, though he did feel they had accomplished quite the amazing scientific and magical feat today, he would have to pass on the 'celebration'._

_" nonsense. when was the last time you just relaxed?"_

_Gaster started to sign an answer, but stopped. He couldn't really even think of the last time he did something that was 'conventionally' relaxing. His work was his life, when he wanted to relax he did personal projects. Whatever Sans had in mind Gaster probably hadn't done since monsters had been on the surface._

_" see? Come on, buddy, I know this great place in Snowdin. they have great ketchup."_

_Gaster was about to sign Sans giving him a flat no, but it had been quite a while since he had left the lab. He could hardly remember what the cave ceilings even looked like anymore. After taking a little extra time to make sure he did really want to spend the rest of his night with his skeleton coworker, Gaster begrudgingly signed letting Sans know that he would go with; just this once._

_" come on, lets get going then. We do have a ways of a walk. don't worry though, i have a whole /radius/ of jokes to keep us laughing." Sans said with the most cunning smile Gaster has seen him wear the entire time he had known him._

_"Awpldp, dalcp xp esp ezcefcp, Dlyd!"_

_" hehe, with how much you always seem to hate my jokes, i didn't think you would be so eager to hear them now."_

_"Dlyd, T lx qlc qczx plrpc!"_

_" that's the spirit, gaster!"_

_"Dlyd, jzf htww mp esp oples zq xp, T dhplc..."_

_Eventually they both made it to the small snow covered town of Snowdin. Gaster would say it was a very slow and sleepy little town, but it always seemed to be a painful idea to Gaster. With how few monsters existed in the Underground and how little space they had, anywhere was a small stagnate village. The thought of it threatened to bring long dead memories and guilt in Gaster. Sans wouldn't know, or understand; it was probably better that he stay in youthful bliss._

_Sans brought him to the front of a small bar, probably the only one Gaster had seen in ever exist in the Underground. It was called Grillby’s, a name Gaster was slightly familiar with due to Sans mentioning it often._

_" here we are. best burgers and fries in the underground and all the ketchup you can drink."_

_If Gaster had a tongue, he probably would have gagged on it. The drinking of condiments a strange habit of Sans that was another tally on the list of things Gaster didn't understand about the Skeleton._

_Sans took a step forward towards the door, but Gaster remained unmoved. The walk over had given him enough time to be able to think more of his situation and count the years it had been since he last interacted with anyone outside of his lab. Even when he talked with the King it was through video correspondence using SID._

_" come on, gas. lets go inside, its not getting any colder." Sans said, his grin nearly reaching his temporal bones. Gaster looked to Sans, and then back towards the door to Grillby’s, maybe this really was a bad idea._

_" hey, uh, gaster. everything okay?" Sans waited, receiving no response from Gaster; verbal of physical. "gaster, it'll be fine. you gatta trust me, okay?" Gaster moved his sight back to Sans. "you can't run away forever."_

_Gaster tilted his head, perplexed that Sans would say such a statement. With a few quick hand gestures he asked Sans if he really knew Gaster's past._

_" not really, i don't try to concern myself with the past. but, you sure are acting like someone running away from something."_

_Well, Sans wasn't wrong. Gaster briefly pondered what Sans would think if he knew._

_" well, as much as i want to keep standing in the cold in nothing but a lab coat and slippers, i think we should be heading inside. at least give it a chance, gaster. and if you don't like it, we can always leave."_

_Gaster took a deep breath in. Again, Sans's reasoning was quite strong against his own. He signed to Sans, saying that he would give it a try before following Sans inside. The whole situation, the apprehension and anxiety that came with it all made Gaster wonder if it was really his own lack of better judgment when it came to himself. Or if it was somehow related to the other half of who he was._

_The bar was busy, filled with mostly monsters of canine origin. Sans lead them both to the farthest edge of the bar since the tables were currently filled with other patrons. Gaster took the seat to the right of Sans, closest to the jukebox and farthest from any of the other monsters._

_Gaster noticed he got a few looks from the others there; curious glances and some whispered speech. But, it wasn't like what he was expecting; thought, what he had expected was more close to a riot. The bartender even regarded Gaster with the same courtesy._

_As the night progressed Gaster started to relax, or maybe that was the drinks Sans had ordered for him. He wasn't sure what it was, but it tasted like tangy candy hinted with fruit, cinnamon, and clove. They were hot since it was cold outside, but the alcohol was still very pungent and hardly cooked out._

_By the end of the night when Sans and him were ready to head back to Hotlands and the lab, they were both pleasantly drunk and happily full. Gaster was glad Sans convinced him to go inside; maybe it really was time he stopped hiding from the only society he could call home._

_They left the bar, Sans telling jokes and stories of his life. Drunkenly and only rarely bumping into Gaster on their walk, Sans told about his parents, his dreams to one day get out of the Underground. That, though he enjoyed being lazy and doing standup comedy, he wanted nothing more than to see what real stars looked like. It was the reason he strived to be a scientist like Gaster; he wanted nothing more than to get out of the damp caves and molten floors he was born into._

_" wh-what about you, gas? i've been talking my skull off, its-its your turn."_

_Gaster signed as best as he could trying to tell Sans there wasn't really anything about him that was that interesting._

_" ah, come on, gas, don't lie to me."_

_Gaster scowled before signing back, telling Sans he was not a liar and never would be. He was just very good at telling the side of the truth Sans needed to know._

_“ awe, that ain’t fair, gas.”_

_It was perfectly fine, he signed back in retort._

_“ well, then I guess its perfectly fair that I won’t come in to the lab tomorrow.” Sans said as they just started heading through Waterfall._

_“Jzf hzfwoy’e.”_

_“ i would. its only fair, gas. you get to be super-secret, so I get to be a lazy-bone. win-win”_

_Gaster glared at Sans, watching the white of his eye sockets to see if he was bluffing. Maybe it was the alcohol, but Gaster wasn’t able to tell, and so he went with the safer route. Besides, Sans did technically work for him, and if he didn’t already know then he was bound to find out._

_Begrudgingly, he signed that he would tell Sans a few things. But that this was blackmail and he wouldn't forget it soon. Sans just laughed with a persistent grin, pleased he was able to finally get his way. Future Sans would take care of whatever possible frustrations Gaster might feel the next day._

_Gaster wasn't sure where to begin, haphazardly signing Sans wondering if there was any place Sans wanted him to start. His story was a long one, one from the before the barrier and even before the war._

_Sans, slowly coming to a stop, swaying slightly back and forth. He hummed a bit to himself in thought, before responding in a tone Gaster hadn't heard him use before. It was less cheerful, filled more with want and longing. A warm monotone of low bass and dry hopes._

_" start with...the surface...”_

_Gaster sighed for Sans to follow him. He knew a place they could sit down, relax, and mostly let Sans watch as Gaster told him his long story. It was a hidden area that you had to used a couple of bridge flowers to get to. It was perfect since it had a bench and no one ever came near there._

_As they headed there Gaster stifled a laugh as he figured this probably could count as practice and he might not even need any after this._

_Eventually, after many tried to place the flowers correctly with their drunken hands, they came to the bench area Gaster had mentioned. It was secluded, sealed off enough that it was noticeably darker then the open areas behind them. The stones that speckled the cavern ceiling and small bits of the floor casted tiny bits of light about the room just enough for the two to see. There was a single echo flower beside the bench there to keep company to whomever was in the room. Gaster remembered the few times he would come down here in his youth and talk to it; it was one of the ways he knew he was typically not much for conversation._

_They both sat down, Gaster looming over Sans and the bench despite being hunched over. Sans immediately draping both arms over the back and his head before exhaling. Gaster watched Sans as he closed his eyes, taking in the quiet rush of water from down by the small dock they had just traveled and the whispering of echo flowers rooms behind. Gaster smiled, the lines of his eyes crinkling as his black mouth widened. It was always nice to see someone be able to appreciate silence; besides, maybe with this Sans’s would forget about the stories._

_“ so,” Sans said several minutes later, causing Gaster to jump. “the surface. what’s it like?”_

_Gaster supposed he never really was lucky. He nodded, turning his long body as best as he could towards Sans, hoping his drunkenness wouldn’t cause him to mess up any of his words._

_Gaster was still a child when he was there. It was years before the war with humans. Monsters lived in small secluded areas and were hunted by the ancient humans as tests of strength and ability. Monsters far outlived humans by many hundreds of years; their SOUL’s being the main cause._

_Out there, even with the danger of deadly fights and being hunted, he would trade everything to be out in the sun again. To watch the world around him change and morph with each season. Here things never changed; the world was a constant. Sometimes the faces changed, and yes there was peace between monsters. But, on the surface there was the Sun, the Moon, real stars that formed multi-colors constellations brighter and more radiant than any gem in the Underground. There was rain, cold droplets that fell from clouds dark and thick. Sometimes, the world would seem like it was crying. The air was clear, fresh, and smelt of all the plants and flowers of the world; a sweetness you could never place._

_It wasn’t just the world that was beautiful, there were some things between humans and monsters that were just as lovely, Gaster signed. He paused, a sad smile pressing to turn into something more disheartened as he went to continue. He told Sans that his parents were such people, and that even then not all things between monsters and humans were all bad. His mother was a human, one who had been cast from her own village, his father a monster who had found her just holding to life. Together, with many years of trust and learning to love, his parents had him. For many years things were good. He grew slower than most of the other monster children, and he did have some differences due to his birth; but he managed at the time. Things changed though when the war broke out._

_“… what happened.”_

_“T wzde espx mzes…”_

_“…. huh?”_

_Slowly, Gaster motioned that he lost them both during that time. It was the one thing in his life that he wished he could do differently; but if he did then it was anyone’s guess as to where any of them would be now._

_“ you fought?”_

_Gaster replied with a nod. He explained that back then everyone fought; the situation was that dire. Humans had left their fear control them. They fears things of magic, of creatures that might overwhelm them with powers they did not have. After the humans declared war and lay waste to the closest Monster civilization everyone was recruited. It didn’t matter if you were of the academia or already apart of the Royal Guard; you fought._

_Gaster had lost his parents in the first attack, it was his very own village that had been struck. He signed to Sans, doing everything he could to hold in the painful tears at the memory, that he was at least glad they went quickly._

_Once he had found safety, he tried to join, but at first had been banned from the fight due to his heritage. The King wanted to trust him, but the rest of the Guard was unsure, given that he was half human. It was after that they found his…abilities, to be vastly useful in the war. It proved to be a fruitless effort in the winning of the war; but with it he was able to save as many lives as he could._

_But at the same time it was because of those powers that the humans couldn’t complete their goal; to eradicate all of the monsters. Instead, because of the brevity of those Gaster fought along with, the humans were forced to seal them away instead. It was that same fear of the monsters powers, or Gasters, and just of everyone’s existence that they went as far as to use seven human souls to create the barrier that now held them._

_“ what ‘powers’ are we talking about here gaster?”_

_Gaster grimaced at his own slip up. He didn’t like telling anyone about his abilities, mostly because no one but himself knew better they were more human than monster. He wasn’t sure he could trust Sans that much quite yet, and so signed to him that when they were more sober, he would tell him._

_“… i suppose that’ll be fair.” Gaster nodded before leaning back against the hard wood of the bench. “gaster, are you really half human?”_

_Gaster gave Sans a slow nod, unsure why he was asking but had enough experience with others to know to be afraid. He wasn’t able to gage Sans with his tone or body movement. One outcome could be that Sans would brush it off as he had originally expected him to; not caring for things so far in the past. The other, Sans might try to do as so many angry individuals had and blame him for their entrapment; and anger came in many forms._

_“ i see…gaster…” Sans reached over, placing a hand on Gaster’s arm and causing him to flinch at the unexpected physical contact. “about your parents, i am sorry…i didn’t know…”_

_Gaster looked down at Sans, he had never seen such a sad and remorseful look on the skeleton’s face; he didn’t think it was possible._

_“ its…not easy losing the people you love.”_

_Gaster blinked a few times. He had expected frustration or maybe dismissiveness, not this. In a panic he quickly signed that it was fine. It had been many years now and though the past wasn’t about to be changed he was hoping to find away to make it right for the future._

_“… yeah, you’re right.” Sans stood up from the bench adjusting his coat for a moment, before putting his trademark smile back on his face. “that’s what we’re doing right? finding a way out of here. Can’t take on all that responsibility just sitting on a bench though, huh?” Sans gave Gaster a wink, and for the first time Gaster felt that maybe he had really made a friend._

_“Wped rz espy, Dlyd.”_

_“ you said it, buddy.”_

_With that, they both left heading finishing their way to the lab. When they were about to split ways Gaster insisted on walking Sans to his place._

_“ gas, I’ll be fine.”_

_Gaster replied saying that he knew Sans would be fine, but it was a curtsey that friends do for others; if he was correct which he was sure that he was._

_“ sure, it is. but my place isn’t very far trust me. besides, i like to walk alone sometimes.”_

_Gaster gave in, letting Sans know that he still wished him the best of luck in his walk home; with the added hope he wouldn’t wake up anyone he might live with returning so late._

_“ oh, don’t worry about that. luckily, i live alone so i can go home and crash on the floor as soon as i get there. either way, gas, i’ll see you tomorrow.”_

_Gaster nodded in reply, giving Sans a smile as he watched the skeleton walk towards the elevators that lead towards the Capital._


	11. And Then There Were Many

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now that Sans has agreed to help you're needing to attend to more pressing matters; your body. Dehydrated and hungry and with no one else to turn to, you ask Sans for help. He agrees, but it ends up being more harmful and embarrassing then you thought it could be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello and welcome to chapter 11!! I'm very happy to have this chapter come out because I finally get to introduce quite a few characters and one of my favorite ones to write as well!
> 
> Also, I'm writing a second Undertale fic that kinda popped into my head while working on Reformation. It's 'Undertail' (in one chapter, but still) and its more of a challenge to myself to try and write some specific stuff. However, it will also be a kind of Prequel to Reformation. It's not a necessary read, however if you are interested please feel free to check it out! Its updates will be a lot slower than Reformation because I will only be writing it when I have in-between time with Reformation since it is my main project.
> 
> I hope that everyone enjoys this chapter and please feel free to comment!
> 
> Next update will be on Monday: 3/21/16

“Hey, um, think I might be able to ask something of you too, Sans?” You hated having to ask for help. However, the longer you talked, the more your throat hurt and the more dizzy you became. You needed to get something to help abate the progression of your dehydration and hunger sooner than later.

 

“okay… what is it?” Words slow with apprehension.

 

“Do you think you might have anything to drink inside the camp? And, maybe, something to eat?”

 

“…what?”

 

“I admit its not the smartest thing, but spent the past twenty-four hours nearly non-stop hiking about a mountain with no food or water. I’m honestly not doing too well here.”

 

“oh, right. um…” He turned around glancing back towards the camp. You were not sure what he was looking for, but you hoped it was going to be what you had requested; and maybe a small place to sit for a while.

 

“here.” Sans walked up to you, coming just barely within reach, holding out his left hand. “take my hand, i’ll bring you some place you can rest. b u t…” he pulled his hand away for a second, his eyelights gone and face dark. “if you even _think_ of hurting anyone in there, i will personally _end_ you. ”

 

Your anger flared at this; you were tired, hurt, and he believed you were going to hurt anyone? You could hardly even hurt a _fly_ on your most ‘evil’ of days so how was a battered version of you supposed to hurt anyone?

 

“Sans, I slept on the ground next to a tree last night when Napstablook found me. I can hardly stand from all the hiking and probably heavily dehydrated. I couldn’t hurt anyone _,_ which I never would, even if I wanted to.” Sans shrugged and closing his eyes in response. When he opened them again the lights had returned to his eye sockets.

 

“you’d be surprised.” You were about to spit a retort back when Sans reached out grasping your shoulder and you felt the earth move beneath you.

 

You’re head swam and your knees buckled from under you. You fell in a heap, expecting the landing to be the hard, uncaring, and rock covered ground. Instead you found it to be a scratchy carpeted floor. Somewhere in the room you heard a clatter of feet rampaging towards your direction, your ears filling with the chorus of different voices.

 

“SANS! WHAT HAPPENED? WHO IS THAT HUMAN, SANS? DO YOU KNOW THEM? WHY ARE THEY LAYING ON THE FLOOR, SANS? HOW DID THEY GET IN THE HOUSE, SANS?”

 

“no idea, pap.”

 

“My goodness! Sans, are they hurt?”

 

“See! I knew you weren’t just a lazy good-for-nothing! Hope they put up a good fight! HAHA!”

 

“Oh n-no! Sans! S-Sans, this is really b-bad! P-please don’t tell me y-you beat up a h-human!”

 

“i didn’t, alphys, i just found them like this. can you all help me get them somewhere more comfortable though? they’re not well.”

 

Warm thin hands slowly move your body, trying to roll you more onto your side. Your stomach knots at the movement, further prompting a bout of vertigo. The voices wash over your ears as you try to right yourself. Never before had your motion sickness extended anywhere past inside of a car. Whatever it was Sans had done, you hoped you would remember to tell him to never do it again.

 

 

Another pair of hands came to help Sans lift you up and move you to an old musty couch. You couldn’t focus on what they were talking about being overwhelmed with the room spinning. For a moment you wondered it maybe you would have been better off trying to find your way home instead. Still, you needed something to drink, but you were afraid that you would probably wretch it up by this point.

 

“Here young one, drink this.” A woman spoke to you in a soft, kind voice. It was one that you imagined belonged to the most ideal of mothers. A large fur covered hand lifted your head just enough to be able to start drinking small amounts from the cold glass of water you felt pressed to your lips.

 

You tried to swallow, the water stinging and burning as it went down your extremely parched throat. The water didn’t go down right causing you to cough and sputter, your throat feeling as if nails were being drug against it. You wondered when it all started to hurt so much, but maybe it was just something you had ignored previously in your panic. It would have to be left to speculation later.

 

After you finished coughing you attempted to drink again. The voice of the woman helping you calm your nerves and the feeling of her kind touch helping with the vertigo. Sadly, you didn’t get much down before your motion sickness decided to take over.

 

“I think I’m gonna be sick…” You murmured.

 

“Sans, can you get a bowl or maybe a pail? Quickly, please!”

 

You were happy you didn’t have to wait long, as shortly a large bowl was thrust into your hands. Your stomach upchucked the small amount of water you had managed to swallow. If you thought swallowing the water was painful, it was exceedingly worse the way back up. Once you were done you wondered if maybe they fed you some kind of acid instead with how badly your throat burned.

 

“didn’t think you were that bad, pal. i wish you said something sooner…”

 

“Me neither…” You said before your body started to dry heave into the bowl. Fuck, there were plenty of other situations you would have rather been in. Not only was this gross, but it was the worse first impression you had given anyone.

 

It took a while for you to get your bearings again; but it eventually happened. Once your stomach stopped doing its flips you found yourself able to hold down the water. Though the pain was still horrible, you were grateful to finally have something in you.

 

"you sure you're okay, buddy?"

 

"Y-yeah. Just some _really_ bad motion sickness."

 

You weren't looking at Sans, but you could guess from the silence that he possibly wasn’t buying that. Then again, you just looked a bit dirty and worn out before, you wouldn't blame him for thinking you might be lying. You would have to deal with all of that later. Right now, you just wanted to sleep since you were finally on a comfortable surface and more water in your belly.

 

"Is there anything I can get for you, young one?"

 

You opened your mouth, about to answer; but you could feel yourself catch you words. It dawned on you that you were probably heavily imposing. Before when you asked Sans you thought it would just be him; and with everything he put you through you felt it fine to ask at least something of him. But, there were many others that you didn't know. You couldn't bring yourself to ask favors of people you didn’t even know the names of yet.

 

"No, I'm fine. Thank you though." You spoke through your pain and moved to sit up. Your body ached with each small movement. By now you were going to have to call into work for the next few days.

 

"No, no, no!" Two white furry hands gently clasped your shoulders carefully pushing you back down. You looked up at the woman, staring at an anthropomorphic goat with the kindest smile you had ever seen.

 

"I won't have any of it. Now," she said as she let go of you. "how is your stomach feeling? Better? Worse? Do you think you could eat some food?"

 

"Um..." You wanted tell her you felt horrible and couldn't eat a bite, but just the idea that she was offering you something edible made your mouth water. You didn't want to answer, so instead you took the neutral route.

 

"I don't want to be a bother."

 

"I can assure you that you are not. At least let me get you some more water since you're probably very thirsty!"

 

She didn't wait for you to respond before heading back to the kitchen. You sat up slowly, wanting to take in a quick glance at your surroundings. Sans was still beside the couch the rest of the voices you heard before talking in the kitchen in muffled sounds. There was a large TV on a stand with a couple of very old VHS's in it, but no VHS player. To the right was a sock on the floor with a series of post-it notes and to the left a large wooden stairwell. You tried to think of where you really were, since you hardly thought the monsters had time to build individual houses on the side of the mountain within the timeframe of two weeks.

 

“you should probably lay back down, buddy.” You groaned and lay down again. Despite your curiosity overcoming your physical state, it didn’t change that Sans and the goat lady were right.

 

"toriel's really sweet, huh?" Sans spoke quietly to you, his gaze fixated on the opening to the kitchen. There was a small pain, like your heart suddenly twisted, but you weren't completely sure as to why.

 

"Yeah, she's really, really kind.” You contemplated what you wanted to say, it was a dumb thing bugging you in the back of your mind. You probably should say anything; it wasn’t your place. In the end you decided you were too sick feeling and too tired to really fight yourself on asking such a simple question.

 

“So, you and her together?"

 

"w-what?!" You turned your head towards him, raising an eyebrow. It was easy to tell he was at least fairly infatuated if not already dating her.

 

"am i really that easy to read?" He said, his voice somber. You internally flinched at the sound, doing your best to backpedal through your injured throat.

 

"N-no, you’re not! Just teasing!” You started to wonder why it was so hard to smile right then. You decided it was probably because of the massive pain your while body was in.

 

“sorry to break your little human heart, but me and toriel are not together. but, she is quite the amazing monster.”

 

“Oh, I see. Sorry, Sans.” It was at times like these that you would be reminded of one of your favorite cliché sayings. ‘Curiosity killed the cat… but satisfaction brought it back.’

 

“yeah.” You didn’t think someone could sound as heart broken as Sans. It was obvious that he did really like her, and your only guess was that somehow he had been turned down. Your heart went out to him; you understood that pain well.

 

“Oh… well… doesn’t know what she’s missing.”

 

“no, its not that. there are just somethings people can’t get past. some of those things are age gaps.”

 

“Oh…” you replied, sadness in your voice.

 

“Hold on everyone. I’ll be right back.” You could hear Toriel say loudly in the kitchen, doing her best to talk over all the voices without shouting. Toriel came walking from the kitchen, her soft purple dress flittering about her feet. “Here you are, young one.” She said as she handing you a new glass of water.

 

“T-thank you.” You mumbled as you gently held the glass, sitting up slightly to take small mouthfuls of the liquid.

 

“You should get some rest so you can recover, young one. I’ll be preparing food soon, so don’t worry and just recover. Oh, and, Sans?”

 

“yeah, tori?”

 

“We need you in the kitchen, if you don’t mind…”

 

“sure thing, tori.”

 

Sans followed Toriel, giving you a small glance back at you before moving out of view. You wished you understood the monster better unsure if he liked you or hated you. You took a few more sips of water, the cold chill of it numbing your throat, soothing it as much as it could.

 

As you drank, you tried to hear the quieted voices from the kitchen. It didn’t matter how much you strained to listen, you couldn’t gather anything of they’re conversation. Eventually, once the glass was empty, you decided to take Toriel on her advice and lay back down to see if you could catch some sleep.


	12. Rusted Dagger

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You last visit inside was not without spoils either. Before she let you drag yourself back outside you had managed to grab a small cooking knife from the counter. She must have forgotten to put it away when she was drunk the night before, or maybe for once luck was on your side.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *WARNING*
> 
> This is a Chara chapter and contains child abuse, gore, blood, animal cruelty, and heavy violence.
> 
> Sorry this is an hour late, I finished the editing early and then I lost track of time. Please keep in mind the warnings of this chapter as it contains a lot of the harder warnings for the story.
> 
> Next chapter will be published on Friday: 3/25/2016
> 
> Feel free to leave a kudos or a comment and I hope that you enjoy the chapter!
> 
> Edit: Accidentally placed the notes in the wrong place.

_You were healing up quite nicely from the last fight with your mom. You had managed to smash a dish on her head, but it sadly was not enough to do any kind of damage. Instead, it had only infuriated her. Having only a bloody face and being knocked out being the worst of it made it completely worthwhile._

_You last visit inside was not without spoils either. Before she let you drag yourself back outside you had managed to grab a small cooking knife from the counter. She must have forgotten to put it away when she was drunk the night before, or maybe for once luck was on your side. When it was safe, you crawled under the house doing what you could to keep the dirt from getting into your wounds as you buried the knife. She would come to check under the house. She always did, she hated you sleeping under it; but she would never come looking for the knife._

_It had been almost a week since then. You had set up a small trap behind the wooden shed in the far left corner of the yard. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to catch a living creature. It was when you woke up to small yowls that you knew today was your lucky day._

_It was a small weight trap you had set with a rusted fishing net. It was after you rounded the corner that you realized some kind of luck god really had decided to smile on you that day. Your mom’s beloved pet had come to be caught it in, a small little creature that was lanky and smelt of perfume. He was really you’re mother’s boyfriend’s, but it seemed that she had come to taken a liking to the creature. You had heard her on many occasions cooing over the thing and giving it baths. It would be the perfect thing to try out your weapon on; and to start honing your skills for your planned larger prey._

_You crawled again back under the house, quickly digging up the knife. It had rusted, the edge was already dulled from many uses and lack of sharpening it; but it still would do nicely. It still had a point and as long as you just had to apply enough force it would work just fine. You crawled backwards, a smile creeping across your face as you could hear the loud cries of your soon to be victim. Knife in hand, you made your way toward the caught ball of fur._

_“How much I /hate/ you.” You said as you carefully untangled the cat from the net, holding it by the scruff._

_“She feeds you, gives you water, bathes you. She even tells you lies like how she ‘loves’ you.” You pulled the growling mass from the net, pressing the creature into the ground. It fought to break free, clawing and scratching you around your legs and arms as your small hand started to crush its windpipe._

_“So disgusting.” You raised the knife, you were ready. With this you would gain control. With this you would finally be able to fight back. You heart was pounding rapidly in your chest, your body shaking, and the smile on your face growing wider._

_“Who would ever love a creature like you?” With a grin, you plunged the knife deep into the guts of the creature._

_It wasn’t long that the cries from it died out complete and its body started to turn cold. You remember lapping at a bit of the hot blood that had been on your hands, relishing in the idea that you had completed such a long wanted task. In the end the only sadness you felt was that your first victim hadn’t been your mom._

_However, her time would come; you would make sure of it. She would be the ultimate prize. Then, once you had your freedom, you could start whittling away at the world. It was all a gross and despicable place, you wondered why anyone even wanted to live in it. You would be sure to fix that._

_You did your best to dispose of the body, washing yourself from the blood with the hose you used to shower with. She hardly ever came into the yard so you weren’t very worried about the blood staining the ground by the shed._

_It was after a month of repeating the same process that you finally felt comfortable with your own little hobby. You mostly caught the cats of neighbors and some strays. Once you had managed to catch a dog that had decided to dig under the wooden padlocked gate. It was such a small and shivering thing, but it brought the same feelings of joy and power. Eventually, the small rusted dagger was a part of you; a extension of your will able to bring out the full beauty of your emotions and wants._

_Everything was going well, so wonderfully well, until she somehow found out._

_You could feel your ears ringing after she hit you upside the head with a pan she had brought from the kitchen. Apparently one of the neighbors had started to smell an awful rotting sent from their back yard. She had come to inspect it, finding the stash of animal corpses buried near the shed. There wasn’t a chance of her finding the body of her beloved pet; however it did seem that she had found the small collar you had kept as a trophy, still stained with blood. She decided punishment and retribution was to be you supposed, but despite the pain you couldn’t help but smile._

_“HOW DARE YOU!” She screamed, her voice shrill and breaking._

_You did your best to stand up, trying to move towards the shed. You had moved your prized possession to just a few days ago, wanted it closer for easier access. If you could just reach it, maybe then you would be able to achieve your main desire sooner than you had planned. Before you could make it a foot, the pan came crashing into the other side of your head; your vision winking in and out._

_“YOU FUCKING MONSTER! HOW COULD YOU? HE WAS /MY/ CAT! NOW DENNIS IS DEAD AND IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!!”_

_“Good..” you said, pushing yourself up off the ground as to be able to look at her face. She was next, her blood was going to spill and you were going to show her more pain than she could have ever inflicted upon you._

_“YOU LITTLE SHIT!” She kicked you with all her strength in your stomach, causing you to immediately puke the small amount of food you had managed to find in the garbage that morning. “I’LL FUCKING KILL YOU! I’LL FUCKING KILL YOU I SWEAR!”_

_There was another kick to your guts, all your breath left you. Your body causing you to choke from the mixed spasms of gasping for air and trying to heave. You could hear her walk away, leaving you to twist and flail on the ground. You /had/ to get up and find your knife before she came back. If you didn’t, she would win and there would be nothing you would be able to do about it._

_“I’LL MAKE YOU WISH YOU HAD NEVER BEEN BORN!” She continued to yell from inside the house. You could hear the sound of pans clanging to the floor and dishes shattering between the metal clangs._

_You could feel air start to fill your lungs once again. You forced yourself to crawl, the pain in your body almost too much to bare, but you had to for you were out of options. If you could stand you would have, but your guts were making that not to an option. With enough wiggling about the ground you were able to bring yourself inside the shed. Inside was a small place between the wooden floorboards you had discovered not long ago. You couldn’t move the boards apart, but the knot in one of the panels was just big enough for you to fit your hand through. Just only had a little more to go._

_You made it, reaching your hand down into the black hole as you tried to find what would be your freedom. Before your hand could clasp around it you could hear her feet hitting the old wood steps leading out the door. She had something liquid in a container; you could hear it splashing about as she drew close._

_“COME HERE!!” You felt one of her hands wrap around the ankle of your feet and pulled you as hard as she could. You cried out in pain as your arm refused to remove itself from the hole._

_“I SAID, GET THE /FUCK/ OUT HERE!”_

_You could hear the jug of liquid splash about as it landed with a thud against the ground just before her other hand came to grab at you. Again she yanked you towards her. An audible snap and crunching sound vibrated throughout your body as your arm broke coming free of the wooden knot. You screamed as loud as your lungs would let you as she pulled your injured and broken body across the ground._

_She let you go, letting you writhe in pain as she went to retrieve her own weapon. When she came back, she flipped you over so that you were laying on your back. Through your tears you could see a white and blue jug; you remembered that she would always refer to it as ‘bleach’. Somewhere in the distance you thought you could hear sirens._

_She didn’t say any words, only screamed in nonsensical noises as she pinned your good arm down with her knee. She feverishly unscrewed the cap, throwing it away somewhere to the yard. The sirens were getting louder and closer, mixing in with the muddled noises of her anger and your pain. With a free hand she slammed your head back, doing her best to pry open your eyes and mouth with the one hand._

_“LET ME SHOW YOU PAIN, CHILD!”_

_She tilted the jug, its contents spilling over your face. You could feel both of your eyes flare in a horrid pain, the smelly liquid choking your screams as it made its way up your nose and down your mouth.  You thrashed and tugged, but she was too strong and you were unable to break free._

_“SINCE WHEN DID YOU THINK YOU WERE IN CONTROL?”_

_You would not have been able to hear her words if she were not so close, the sound of the sirens now near enough to add to the pain with vibrations pounding in your ears. It didn’t matter, all your existence was amounting to be in that moment was agony; pitch black, searing torture._

_You could hear a loud crash in the distance, the sound of metal and wood shattering. There were cries of different men and women mixing with the angered responses from your mother. The liquid ceased being poured on you and the weight of her lifted from you. You were finally given a chance to wipe away the tears, blood, and bleach from your eyes and face as best as you could. You ignored everything around you, it didn’t matter. If you could just get the bleach out of your eyes, if you could just block out the pain, then maybe you could get to your knife and end her. As long as you were still breathing you still had time to win._

_It wasn’t long before you started to feel someone’s hands touch your body. A female voice, stern and shaking, trying to hold in her panic of the form she saw before her._

_“Can you talk?”_

_“Let me go!” you screamed back. They were probably with her, and if there was anything you had learned was that her friends were just as ruthless as she was._

_“Stop moving, you are making your injuries worse. We’re going to get you to a hospital!” Her hands tried to pin you down, just like your mothers. You didn’t want to be restricted, contained, and caged as she had always done; as you always had been._

_“Let. Me. Go!” You said before throwing a punch with your only good arm._

_It landed weakly against the woman holding you down, your body having been run to the point of no longer functioning. It didn’t stop you, you wouldn’t let it stop you. Eventually you could feel them loading you into some kind of hard plastic stretcher, the people about you ignoring your angry shouts. You knew you couldn’t be stopped here, you would let her win here. You promised yourself you would be back, that you would kill her, and there would be nothing that would stop you from your goal._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun Fact: this is the only thing I have ever written that upset my stomach while writing it. And I'm written some pretty crazy stuff just to explore the genre of horror more. lol. Still, I hope that you enjoyed the story and chapter! Save for how blood filled it is this was a very fun chapter to write.
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	13. Tea and Blankets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “hey, sleepy head. wake up.” You turned about on the couch a little, or as much as your body would let you, as the voice of Sans tried to rouse you from your slumber.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *WARNING*  
> This chapter contains some violence.
> 
> Welcome to chapter 13! I'm very excited about this chapter and I hope that it brings as much laughter to you all as it did to me when I wrote it.
> 
> Just gatta say, Papyrus is one of my most favorite characters to write, that is for sure!
> 
> Please feel free to leave a comment and/or kudos!
> 
>  
> 
> Next Chapter will be published on: 3/28/2016
> 
> Edit: Was in the middle of editing this chapter and accidentally posted it early. BUT thats okay! It's still ready to go! X3 and thats what matters

“hey, sleepy head. wake up.” You turned about on the couch a little, or as much as your body would let you, as the voice of Sans tried to rouse you from your slumber.

 

“Sans, let them sleep.”

 

“but, they probably should eat. it’s been a while and dinner is almost ready, right?”

 

“Yes, but it might be more beneficial to let them rest longer.”

 

“YES, SANS! LET THE HUMAN CONTINUE TO REST!”

 

Okay, now you were definitely awake.

 

You cracked open an eye trying to see what was going on without letting anyone know you had woken up yet. Sans had his back to you with half of his blue, fur-lined parka blocking your vision. From the areas you were able to see, you could see a monster that resembled a small rounded dinosaur or perhaps lizard standing next to a very athletic looking blue fish with sharp teeth and an eye patch. The other voices you heard, one you knew belonged to Toriel, were blocked from sight by Sans.

 

You honestly wanted nothing more but to sleep, your body repairing itself from the damage that you had endured. But, now that your senses had been startled awake by the loudest voice in the room, there would be no chance of that for a while.

 

You decided to take inventory of your body, see if there had been any changes of things to worry about. You were very sore, but you expected that. You stomach felt as though it was gnawing on itself, begging some kind of sustenance. Your mouth felt sticky and tasted almost rancid; it wasn’t a taste you were unaccustomed to. Since you were young it was something that you would taste only when you were coming down with some kind of illness. You internally groaned figuring it was probably expected with all the stress. You took this time to swallow, hoping that it would clear away the taste, though you knew it never did.

 

“Gah!” You cried out as your throat flared in far worse pain then it had before you fell asleep. You curled up on yourself, clutching your throat as you waited for the burning to subside. As you waited, it seemed that though your voice was hardly above a whisper the others had heard it all of them turning towards you if they hadn’t already before.

 

“Oh, dear! Are you alright?”

 

“HUMAN! ARE YOU OKAY? DID SOMETHING HAPPEN?”

 

You couldn’t speak, the pain was just too much and your esophagus too dry. You sat up and did your best to signal your need for water; pointing to the base of your throat and then making a drinking gesture.

 

“one sec.” Sans said, as you watched him reach other your head grabbing your old glass. It didn’t take him long to return it refilled with water, which you gratefully swallowed.

 

“I hope Sans didn’t wake you up, young one.”

 

You shook your head as you took another sip. You didn’t want to make Sans feel bad, plus any kind of talking right now would just bring you even more fire-laced pain. It probably didn’t help that you had been talking so much before you fell asleep either.

 

“Who _cares_ if he did.”

 

“ _We_ should, Undyne. They are our guest.”

 

“They’re a freeloader! Sans brought them in like some dirty stray animal and now _we’re_ expected to take care of them?”

 

“Yes.” You felt a shiver travel down your spine with harsh and abrasive tone you hear Toriel use. You reminded yourself to never get on her bad side.

 

“And by who’s orders?”

 

“ _Mine_.” If walls could cower, you were sure they would right now. “If you don’t like it, Undyne, then you are welcome to leave. But I will not let someone, human _or_ monster, go untreated for injuries under my watch.”

 

Undyne, who you had come to see was the blue fishlike monster, was sending a sharp and vicious glare at Toriel. Her hands tight fisted, arms taunt at her sides, and her body visibly straining.

 

“Fine. I _will_.” Undyne, stomping her feet the whole way, made for the door and slammed it behind her.

 

“U-Undyne! W-wait!” The lizard-like monster called out behind her, quickly running to follow the furious Undyne. “S-so sorry your majesty!” She yelled inside before closing the door gently, Toriel let out an exasperated sigh once the two were gone and the house was silent again. She moved closer to your side, doing her best to smile despite the worry evident on her face.

 

“I’m sorry that you had to bear witness to that, young one.”

 

You wanted to tell Toriel that it was fine, that with the display you put on earlier you believed yours was probably something far more embarrassing. However, all you were able to do was attempt to convey your feelings in a series of frantic hand gestures.

 

“Are…you alright?” Toriel said with a raised eyebrow, unsure as to what you were attempting to convey. You stopped pointing to your throat again while shaking your head.

 

“Oh! Oh my! Is it that bad?” You nodded back slowly, wishing that was wasn’t. “Would you like some tea?” Again, you nodded. A bright smile grew on Toriel’s face. “Well then, just wait here and-“

 

“TORIEL, YOU HAVE DONE ENOUGH TODAY! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL MAKE THE TEA FOR US ALL! STAY HERE WITH SANS AND THE HUMANS!”

 

It was then that you noticed a rather large skeleton that towered over Sans much like Toriel did, sprint off towards the kitchen. He was wearing what seemed to be almost akin to something a superhero would wear or maybe a very flamboyant knight; his red cape fluttering behind him as he wiped around the corner. For as loud as the guy was, at least he seemed to be really upbeat at least from the few times you had heard him talk. You always felt the world needed more people like that. The only thing that felt off was that he referred to you as a plural of human when you were fairly sure you were the only one in the house.

 

“Oh, alright then. If you’re sure, Papyrus.” She replied, as she watched him leave, a worried look on her face. She leaned towards Sans, quietly whispering something in his ear, a worried expression on her face. Sans just chuckled, his grin growing slightly wider.

 

“yeah, its fine. paps stopped burning the house down just last month.” Toriel’s face dropped as she for a brief moment stared at Sans with visible fear. You swore you could see her shaking.

 

“Sans! Please te-“

 

“i’m joking, tori! i’m joking! no need to get all _burned_ up about it, tori. hehe. ” Toriel exhaled gratefully before letting out a small laugh.

 

“Oh-ho, Sans, I would be _flaming_ mad at you, but _ashe_ you might guess, I don’t think our guest will _lava_ it that much.”

 

You wanted to join in, to be apart of the laughter and the comedy; but it didn’t change the state you were in and so you relented. Even if you would have loved to _pun_ -ish them with a few of your own. Your body wasn’t going to heal if you didn’t let it.

 

You let the laughter of the two come to rest in the white noise of your mind as you lay back down trying to sleep again. You soon found that you couldn’t, the pain currently too great in your stomach for you to relax. Instead you turned back into your mind; maybe now would be a good time to process those memories you had somehow managed to dig up from whatever grave they had been buried in.

 

You remembered clouded wisps of the first memories. You knew that you had met Sans at some point before the cliff, that it had been a while after the monsters had set up the campsite on the mountain. There was the cliff one, you remembered that better but you were not sure why. The first solid thing you did recollect was that when you and Sans had touched hands for the first time _something_ caused you to black out. You could feel the hairs stand on edge on your back as you thought about driving home in your car without any memory. You would have been scared that it might happen again but, Sans did have to touch you to bring you here, so maybe it was bound to only happen the one time. However, it also could have been the reason why the motion sickness was so bad. Whatever it was, you would have to talk to Sans about it, see if maybe there was something he knew.

 

Past those were memories you didn’t want to revisit any time soon; not unless you had to. You wish that you had more to go off of with Sans; more to understand the situation and figure out what the next set of steps was. But, that all might have to wait until you fully healed anyway. The only question that was plaguing your mind was if you all really had enough time?

 

You were forced out of your thoughts as soon as Papyrus finished making the tea, loudly announcing to everyone in the room that they all had to have some of it, not just you. Toriel went to help you sit up as Sans helped Papyrus bring everyone some of the infused liquid.

 

“here you go, kiddo.” Sans said as he brought a small child sitting on the arm of the couch a cup of the tea as well. Their legs draped over the sides, quiet through it all the chaos and mayhem that had been happening since you arrived. You watched them, wondering if they were real since the last person you expected to see here in a room full of monsters was another human; let alone a _child_.

 

“and here. this is for you, buddy.” Sans placed a white mug in your hand. You could feel the heat radiating from the cup near your fingers as you held to the handle.

 

“Th..ank..you.” You managed to murmur to Sans, smiling in gratitude. You were glad when he smiled back.

 

“don’t sweat it.” You went to take a sip of your drink, removing your eyes from Sans assuming he probably would go off to join Toriel, when he spoke up again. “hey, uh, mind if I sit with you?”

 

You glanced up and nodded. You didn’t think Sans would want to sit by you, especially with what he inadvertently told you about Toriel, but you didn’t mind it. You did what you could to scoot over so that Sans would be able to sit with enough of a comfortable distance between the two of you. Though, you admitted to yourself, if he did want to get closer you wouldn’t have minded.

 

“thanks.” He said, flashing you another smile before plopping down on to the soft green cushions.

 

Because you couldn’t really interject into the conversation you mostly listened, learning small things about the monsters and the small child that lived with them. You came to find that Papyrus was actually Sans’s brother, the child was Frisk, a human that fell down into the Underground a short while ago yet was Toriel’s child. When Toriel first mentioned that Frisk was her child her face brightened and her whole demeanor seemed to become more bubbly. You made a mental note that you would get Sans to explain what the whole story was with Frisk and Toriel, curiosity biting at the edges of your mind.

 

Eventually everyone ate, Toriel apparently having made a sail pie and a small thing of broth for you. Though it wasn’t solid food you were just glad to have something, and not eat _snail_ pie. Once the food had been eaten and the dishes cleared away, Toriel announced that she and Frisk should be heading out, since it was getting late. After a few quick goodbye’s from Sans and Papyrus Toriel and Frisk left, leaving you alone with the two skeleton brothers.

 

“HUMAN! IT IS PROBABLY BEST THAT YOU GET MORE REST AS WELL. HOWEVER, THIS IS NO PLACE FOR A GUEST OF THE GREAT PAPYRUS TO SLUMBER! COME, I SHALL GIVE YOU MY ROOM!”

 

“pap, are you sure? you don’t really fit on the couch. i can give them my bed.”

 

“IT WILL BE FINE, SANS! BESIDES, YOUR ROOM IS A HIDEOUS MESS AND I ALREADY KNOW YOU’RE FAR TOO LAZY TO IT CLEAN UP FOR OUR GUEST!”

 

You wanted to tell Papyrus that if that was the case you would be perfectly fine on the couch. It wasn’t uncomfortable and you even preferred to sleep on couches sometimes anyway. But, though you tried to frantically garner one of the brother’s attention, you were unable to convey your opinion in the matter.

 

“well, its not easy when you have as much work as i do.”

 

“SANS! YOU HARDLY WORK AT ALL!”

 

“naw, bro. i work myself to the _bone_ all the time. ”

 

“SANS!” Papyrus groaned at the bad joke. Hoping you could take this break in their conversation to try and get their attention

 

“huh?” Finally Sans looked over at you and your hectic waving. “what’s up?”

 

“Don’t worry about it…” You managed to whisper out, your voice and throat being much more corporative now that you gotten a bit of hot liquid to help heal it.

 

“HUMAN, ARE YOU SURE? I DO NOT MIND SHARING! FOR IT IS THE THING THAT SHOWS YOU CARE FOR OTHERS! AND I CARE, FOR I AM THE GREAT PAPYRUS!” You were starting to wonder how on earth the skeleton managed to be so loud all the time. Just thinking about it made your throat hurt.

 

“It’s okay Papyrus…I like it here on the couch…”

 

“WELL THEN. IF YOU ARE SURE HUMAN. BUT, AT LEAST LET ME GET YOU SOME OF MY SUPER COOL BLANKETS TO KEEP YOU WARM!”

 

The tall skeleton bolted up the stairs, quickly throwing the door to his room open. There was a string of various noises including the opening and closing of closet doors, the clanking of bones, and - wait, was that a _drill_?

 

“my bro’s pretty cool, huh?” Sans said without any prompting. You were starting to think that this must have been a habit for him to say some of the smaller things on his mind about people. It was rather cute you thought.

 

He was like Toriel, you thought. Someone who cared a lot for others and didn't seem to really seem to mind your sudden appearance. Or at least did less visibly than others, like the fish lady. You believed they mentioned her name was Undyne, but you weren't sure if that was right.

 

"Yeah, he seems really nice. You're lucky to have a brother like that."

 

"hehe, yeah. i am. do, uh, you have any siblings?"

 

You frowned. You had always wished that you had a sibling, it would have made growing up easier; or at least it was what you believed. Things hadn't been easy, family and otherwise, but you always thought that if you had a sibling they would have been your best friend.

 

"No, but I bet its great having a older brother." San's bellowed out a laugh.

 

"pap would be so happy to hear that." Sans managed between snorts and chuckles.

 

"Wait, what do you mean?" Sans was about to answer you, but was cut off from a loud cry from Papyrus.

 

"SANS, COME HELP ME WITH THESE BLANKETS!"

 

"one sec, papyrus."

 

Sans left you on the couch heading up the stairs and disappearing into Papyrus's room only to come out carrying several multicolored blankets.

 

"pap… i think this is more than enough."

 

"NONSENSE, SANS! NO ONE CAN EVER HAVE ENOUGH BLANKETS!"

 

Sans moved to the side, placing the blankets down on the floor as you watched in horror as Papyrus came stumbling out with at least 20 blankets stacked up in his hands. Papyrus started down the stairs, Sans watching the scene from the balcony. Your body was too weak to move, and your voice too horse to call out. Instead you were forced to watch as the taller skeleton somehow made it down the stairs safely and started to pile blanket upon blanket upon you. As he did he told you the story of each one.

 

"-AND THIS IS ONE I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, MADE MYSELF! IF YOU CAN'T TELL IT HAS A PLATE OF MY FAMOUS SPAGHETTI IN THE CENTER! THIS ONE SANS GOT ME LAST YEAR FOR MY BIRTHDAY. HE THINK'S HE'S FUNNY, BUT I KEEP TELLING HIM THAT WHATEVER THE 'BONE ZONE' IS, IT IS SILLY AND NOT FUNNY IN THE SLIGHTEST!! THIS-"

 

The whole time that Papyrus threw blankets on top of you, you could hear the roaring laughter of Sans in the background. Soon you were buried in blankets, the voices of the skeleton brother's muffled under all the colorful cloth. At least it was warm, and you hadn't realized how cold you actually were until you were under the pile.

 

“SANS! COME DOWN HERE AND BRING THE OTHER STACK OF BLANKETS!”

 

You flinched at the idea of even more blankets were going to be placed on top of you. You had to get him to stop, so you started digging your way out. Eventually, you were able to bring your head back out from under the pile, finding Sans slowly pulling blankets off of you while Papyrus fumed about Sans's actions.

 

“SANS! YOU ARE NOT HELPING! THE HUMAN MIGHT GET COLD AND THEN SICK AND IF THEY DO IT WILL BE ALL YOUR FAULT, SANS!”

 

You started to chuckle, your throat still stinging but it wasn't something you could help. Out of all the stress of the past few days, the time lines, the worry, it was nice to feel like it wasn't something to stress about; that the fear wasn't real. The brothers stopped what they were doing, watching you as your laughter reached their ears. Soon they too had joined you, realizing just how ridiculous the entire situation had become.

 

Once everyone was done laughing, Papyrus and Sans both helped un-bury you from the blankets as Papyrus apologized.

 

"I AM SORRY, HUMAN. IT SEEMS I WAS A BIT OVER EXCITED THAT YOU ARE HERE AS HUMAN'S DO NOT COME TO THE UNDERGROUND OFTEN!"

 

"It's fine, Papyrus. Though there are way too many of them, all of your blankets seem really neat."

 

You were partially lying since most of them were rather itchy and ridiculous looking. In fact a lot of them were more along the lines of really tacky Christmas sweaters and felt like them too. But, he was a really nice guy and he seemed to really love those blankets; you didn't want to hurt his feelings.

 

"REALLY?!" Papyrus's face started to form a light orange blush about the cheeks as he placed both hands of each side of his head. You couldn’t help but giggle; he was like a child and in the most spectacular of ways.

 

“Yes, Papyrus. Really” You meant it this time, even as blindingly gaudy some of them looked, it really was quite the feat for one person to have so many blankets.

 

“come on, pap. we should let them get some sleep.” Sans said as he placed the last blanket into the pile the two had been making leaving you with one single blanket.

 

“SANS, THAT IS THE BEST IDEA YOU’VE HAD ALL DAY.” Papyrus grabbed part of the pile, Sans taking the other half. “GOOD NIGHT, HUMAN! IN THE MORNING I SHALL TREAT YOU TO THE CULINARY WONDER THAT IS THE GREAT PAPYRUS’S COOKING! BUT UNTIL THEN REST WELL AND IF YOU NEED ANYTHING, DO NOT HESITATE TO ASK!”

 

“I look forward to it.” You smiled as gave the two a small wave. “Goodnight, Papyrus. Goodnight, Sans.” You said as loudly as you could, which wasn’t very much at all. You only hoped the two of them heard you as they made their way up the stairs.

 

Sans helped bring all of the blanket’s just outside of Papyrus’s room before heading off to his own. Papyrus spatting a comment about how lazy his brother was before bringing in all the blanket’s himself and flipping a switch at the top of the stairs that turned off the lights in the living room.

 

You lay there for a moment, listening to the silence of the room. Things felt, better? Maybe? You were not sure if you could place the feeling. You did know the feeling of repeating time that felt like sticky residue of molded food was gone since you had met Napstablook; but how long would it last? You already knew the timeline could repeat within itself. A brief acknowledgement of the deadly run-in had proved that there were specific points of which the timeline could go back to. You were not sure if that was something that was bound to happen every time. However, the chances of different runs having different scenarios was more palatable then the idea of having to face that situation again. But, even as you ran through your head what you knew, it didn’t make the feeling of unease go away. You didn’t know when the world would shift again, if you would remember, or if there would really be anything you could do about it. You continued to try and wrack your brain to figure out more of this puzzle that was the timeline, monsters, you, and that child named Frisk. But you had maybe just the fringe of it all and only from what you could piece together.

 

Eventually, you decided to try and sleep again, figuring that there was no way you would be able to find an answer now; but at least tomorrow you would be able to ask Sans. It took what felt like hours, but at some point you fell into the black pitch of sleep.

 

[+]-[+]-[+]

**“Why? Some monsters are allowed outside right? If you had found him outside of the area when he wasn’t supposed to be, I don’t think you would have let him even be in the store. This is his home, his world too! He should be able to be free to be in it as much as me and you!” You could feel yourself shaking, this was it. You had lost, you could feel it.**

**“Sorry, but I’m going to have to ask you to come with us. We’re upholding the law and regulations to protect people from these _creatures_ , so until we have orders that say otherwise, you are obstructing our jobs and the law. Please place your hands behind your back…”**

**This couldn’t be happening, there was no way that you could have failed. You were just trying to save Sans, right? You felt as though you were vibrating and about to fall into pieces. This had to be a dream because all of it was surreal.**

**Blinded by the feeling that your chance to succeed had passed, you followed their orders. You hardly listened as they read you your rights, and felt your fate seal as they shoved you and Sans in to the back of their un-cushioned van. You hardly noticed that they turned their radios off, only remembering that you could hear a quiet pop and lack of static as the police drove the car silently. You couldn’t bring yourself to look at Sans. You knew he had been right, why hadn’t you just listened? Why in the fucking hell did you have to be so determined?**

**You didn’t know where they were talking you, and once the car stopped you realized that maybe you should have instead of sitting in there shell shocked. Maybe if you had, when they opened the car doors, you could have booked it.**

**‘No,’ You thought as you got out of the car. ‘I couldn’t leave Sans behind…’**

**Just after you finished placing both feet on the ground you felt one of them grab a fistful of your hair and yank you forward. A knee landed in your gut forcing the air out of your body, the impact only made worse by your momentum.**

**“ h e y!” You heard Sans yell as you crumpled into a heap on the ground. You didn’t know what Sans was doing, but as you tried to find a way to breath you heard the cocking of a gun.**

**“Don’t even think about it, _filth_. Now, get the fuck out of the car.”**

**You could hear them curse at Sans, saying he was taking too long of a time to get out. You could hear the rattle of Sans’s bone’s as they pulled him from the car, throwing him against a nearby tree causing Sans to cry out in pain. You were finally able to start breathing again, looking up to where you had heard Sans. You were somewhere surrounded by trees, probably in an area near the mountain. One of the policemen had Sans pinned while he repeatedly bash Sans against the tree, the other watched with sick laughter falling from their lips.**

**You could see through blurry vision that one of Sans’s closed eyes were glowing blue with some kind of magic, but you couldn’t tell which one it was from this angle. His left hand was also glowing, flickering out each time he was hit. You had to find some way to stop them, curling up on yourself as quietly as you could, trying to get your feel back under you. If you could just stand then you could at least push the one on Sans off. You tried to ignore the tears streaming down your face as you could hear Sans’s bones cracking under the blows, his cries becoming more saturated with agony.**

**There was a sudden click behind you and the cuffs that were holding your hands gave way. In your vision you could see the blue wisps that were around Sans flicker and fade. You didn’t know how, but he freed you. You could guess that Sans probably would have wanted you to run away, to get yourself out of there alive; but then where would that leave him? You didn’t even need to think about it; you both came in together and you were going to leave together.**

**With newfound strength thanks to the miracle that was the adrenaline, you pushed yourself from the ground, sprinting towards the Policeman holding Sans. You lowered your shoulder and leaned a little forward giving your center of gravity more stability as you rammed into the assailant with all the force you could bring. He flew a few feet, crying out as he tumbled to the floor, Sans following suit in a heap beneath the tree.**

**A shot rang out, your ears buzzing and a new pain blooming in your shoulder. You grabbed the place where the pain was centralized as you realized that you hadn’t made a plan this far yet. You locked eyes with the other policemen, watching him, trying to think through the pain as to what your next move would be. You had to think of something.**

**“ what are you doing? G O!” Sans said from behind you between his wheezing and grunts of pain.**

**You wished you could have told him that you would not leave without him. That you finally understood and things were going to be different; but now was not the time to talk. You didn’t have very long, you knew the other Policemen was just pulling himself up and off of the ground. But, what did you have that would beat a gun?**

**You never came up with an answer, and found that as much as you wanted to be a hero, you weren’t. You were reminded that willpower only takes you one part of the way, but the skills you needed to finish this you didn’t have.**

**You were not sure what to do. If you attempted to jump at the policeman with the gun you were for sure to be shot down before coming even close. To the side you could already hear the angry grunts of the other policeman as he picked himself up. You needed to do something, anything, as long as it was some kind of action to get you and Sans free. In a panic, you lunched yourself back at the policemen on the ground, hoping that you would be able to make something like the other policemen shoot his partner. You twisted and tried to overpower him, but instead you found yourself quickly being pinned by the much stronger foe.**

**You suddenly felt a large pressure in your stomach, the action having happened so quickly that you didn’t know at first you had been stabbed. By the third time you finally felt the blade piercing your chest, grazing a rib as it entered you. By the fourth your ears were pounding with your own screams. It was by the tenth, when your vision started to black out, that you could hear the loud sobs and pleas of Sans in the background begging them to stop.**

[+]-[+]-[+]

 

“h e y! hey, buddy! wake up, come on!”

 

You could still feel hands on your body as someone shook you, pulling you from your dream. You bolted up, adrenaline still moving its way about your bloodstream making it so that you didn’t feel the pain of your body as you leapt off the couch. You tumbled to the ground, needing to get away from whoever it was as all the alarms in your head went off telling you to run. You looked up at whoever was attacking you when you realized that you weren’t being attacked.

 

Sans was standing there in the dark in just a white t-shirt and some shorts, he was _frowning_ , frozen by your panic. He had a hand still out that was probably the one he had been trying to wake you up with. You didn’t move, scared of what he might do or say for you reacting the way you did. You could feel your heartbeat quicken and your chest tighten as he refused to move either.

 

"h-hey, are you okay?" Sans said making the first effort to break the tenseness between you too.

 

"I..."

 

How were you supposed to answer that. You just had a nightmare, or would it be more fitting to call it a memory? You were not sure, but it was from the set of ones you had been trying to forget. Your shoulder ached and your chest stung with phantoms pains. You pulled one hand that was propping you up from it's planted spot in the carpet and started touching all the spots you could feel the radiating hurt. After checking you found yourself to be fine; no gun shots and knife wounds made by fearful bigots with too much power.

 

You were physically fine, but the tears steaming down your face indicated to yourself that you were probably far from fine. You could hear Sans moving towards you, small sounds of bones moving together with the shuffle of feet against the carpet. He knelt down, close though that his face was fully in your vision, his smile sad and eyes half closed.

 

"lets get you back on the couch, okay?" He reached out, not waiting for your reply, helping you slowly to your feet. "wait here." He said once you were fully sitting on the couch before going into the kitchen.

 

You pulled your knees to your chest, curling around your legs as your mind went over all the details of the memory. Maybe if you had experienced it more times, you would have remembered that lunging towards the Policeman that was down was a bad idea. Just doing that to someone who you had already partially incapacitated was silly in the first place. But, the situation wasn't one you had ever been in before; how were you supposed to react?

 

You could feel your body shaking, aggravating the phantom pains and the real ones you already had. Would this timeline be like that too? Would it be the same policemen? Would you even be there to help Sans? The more you thought about it, the more you realized you were only stalling for time, it didn't matter what you did there was probably no way you could have saved Sans on your own. You both were supposed to meet your deaths far away from the city, covered in blood and dirt. It dawned on you just how small of a chance there had been for you both to get out of there alive.

 

If there hadn't been some way for you to both get away, just how many more times would you have gone to taste the teeth of the knife, the kiss of the bullet?

 

"knock, knock." You flinched at the sudden noise. You could hear Sans still in the kitchen, small clinking of porcelain and metal traveling about in the otherwise quiet house.

 

You didn't really feel like joking at the moment. You were caught in the middle of a deadly replay of a past that hadn't happened yet. You decided to at least humor him, maybe if you did he would go back upstairs sooner and leave you be in the darkness of your mind's memory.

 

"Who's there..."

 

"eidth" He said as you heard the bones of his feet clatter against the kitchen floor, moving back onto the carpet of the living room.

 

"Edith, who?" He came to a stop in front of you, a boney finger lightly tapping your shoulder. You lifted your head, finding Sans standing there with a small plate of cookies balanced on top of a mug.

 

"eidth these, they'll make you feel better." He said as he handed you the plate and mug of what turned out to be tea. You couldn't help it when you felt your face twitch, trying to smile.

 

Hesitantly, you reached out grasping both. He gave you a smile before moving to sit beside you in silence. You placed the mug carefully between you and the armrest of the couch so that you could stare at the plate of cookies. You didn't know if your stomach would be able to handle food right now, let alone your throat.

 

"they wont bite, i promise."

 

You looked over at Sans who had an arm slung over the back of the couch, the other resting in his lap. You could tell the smile was forced, his face seeming tight, though you were baffled as to how you could be able to tell this when he was made of bones. You looked back to the cookies, two large brown circles sprinkled lightly in what you could guess was cinnamon and sugar. With your right you grabbed a corner of the cookie, breaking off a piece and placed it in your mouth.

 

The outer edge was crunchy while the small bit of the more inner part you got was soft and chewy. The dark powder on top was definitely cinnamon, but it didn't overpower the sweetness of it. You could tell it was homemade and while you couldn't place the flavor the best way you could describe it was almost like that of a warm hug. A small voice suddenly popped in to your head, telling you that it liked how your hair looked, causing you to flinch and freeze at the intrusion of something that was not your own internal voice.

 

"it's a compli-cookie. its made with a bit of extra magic so, if it worked right, it probably gave you a compliment."

 

The idea was bewildering, but then again you were in a house, in the mountains, where two skeleton monster brothers lived and who were friends with goat, fish, and lizard monsters. So, maybe magic cookies weren't so odd. Besides, it was a very nice distraction from what you had been thinking about

 

"It did."

 

"what did it say?" You glanced over at Sans before answering, unsure as to why he wanted to know. It wasn't like it had really said anything special, right?

 

"Its said I had nice hair."

 

"hehe, see? the cookie knows a good thing when it sees it."

 

You smiled, you didn't really think that you looked that good most of the time. You kinda just wore what you could, let your hair fall where it did; nothing really special. Nothing that really separated you from the crowd, made you visible to the masses. It was more of a defensive thing, cause if you didn't stand out you couldn't be a target. However, it was nice to think that Sans and, oddly, a cookie believed that there was something nice about you.

 

As nice as the cookie was and the thoughts of compliments were, it didn't change the topic you mind was gripping to. You wondered how Sans even started to deal with this. You knew he remembered better than you and more that you could even start to recollect. You knew even before the monsters broke from the barrier you had the 'deja vu' experiences, so how many resets had there really been?

 

"How do you do it, Sans?" The words came spilling out of you before you really had a chance to think them through.

 

"huh? what do you mean?" This was a bad idea, you should stop now.

 

"With the resets...How do you keep moving forward? How do you not have nightmares?!" You were treading down a line of conversation that you didn't want to go; you knew it. But the wheels in your head were spinning and the words you tried to hold back falling between your fingers like water.

 

"i don't." His voice was layered with sadness. "really, i gave up a long time ago. most of this is honestly the kid’s doing. it’s why i said you should turn back." He was quiet, not looking at you. "ya know, its not too late to still do so."

 

He was right, you supposed. You knew the spirit of death and rebirth hung over you both, over everyone as long as these resets existed. You didn't know if the resets were finite, if someday they might run out and there would only be one left. But, the idea that they were infinite was quite outlandish to you as well. The safe thing would be to take him up on being excluded, to save yourself and go back to a normal life for as long as you can.

 

But, you couldn't. The more you thought about it, even with the memories you just relived, you would do it all again for what you knew was right. As far as you knew, Sans was the only one going through all of this alone. His reactions and requests to keep it hidden showed that. You would be disappointed in yourself if you left him alone now. You had been left by yourself enough to know it doesn't help anyone; and the last thing you were going to do was break a promise to yourself.

 

"No..I said that I wanted to help. So, that's what I'm gonna do. It's just...Sans, do you have dreams about what happened before?"

 

"all the time." You curled on further on yourself, preparing yourself for your next question. It was less about his answer and more about what you should come to expect on the path you now set for yourself.

 

"Is it painful?"

 

"depends on the memory." You shivered at the implication that it didn't matter who, or what time line it happened, the pain would pass on with you. "but, ya know, its not all bad."

 

You blinked away tears you didn't realize were starting to form as you watched Sans. He was right, life had a lot of different things in it, not just pain; you forgot that sometimes.

 

"Yeah. Like, Papyrus and his fifty-thousand blankets. That's something I never want to forget." Sans chuckled with you at the memory.

 

"hehe, yeah. don't know what i would do without paps. i'm glad he's around this time."

 

Your body went rigid at the last comment Sans made. He could see he was smiling, just a little, and it seemed to be genuine but the words stuck with you. You had gotten your fill though of horrible memories, and it didn't take much to guess at what Sans was alluding to. Instead, you decided since you both were probably not going to get any sleep that it was about time Sans told you what was going on. Besides, it would be a good distraction and you always felt better about a situation when you were able to start trying to solve the problem.

 

"So, Sans. Sorry to change the subject but, about the time lines and these 'resets'. What exactly _is_ going on?" Sans laughed, closing his eyes and his smile faltering for a bit.

 

"like i said, it's a long story."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did I tell you all yet about how much I love writing Papyrus?!?! Cause I do, he is a precious cinnamon roll and I was worried I wouldn't be able to write him correctly, but as soon as I did he was just *poof* there and ready to go! XD I can't get enough of writing him is just spectacular XD


	14. What SOULs Are Made Of

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "alright, to elaborate a bit more, for quite a few hundred years we lived under the mountain. some had families and tried to make a new life. others decided to wait, hoping that one day the barrier would fall, which would only happen if there was seven human souls to break it; the equivalent of which was used to make it. hope overtook the underground when a small child named chara fell in."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is the next chapter! I hope that it's not to info-dumpy, cause I really worried about it and its sister chapter (chapter 16) being a bit like that, BUT its stuff that has to be told so, here we are!
> 
> As always please feel free to leave any comments and/or Kudos! I always leaving hearing back for sure!
> 
> Next Chapter Update: Friday 4/1/2016
> 
> Edit: Edited when Sans speaks about SOUL's to be correctly formatted!

"Well, I'm not sure what time it is but, how about you go till sun-up?"

 

Sans shrugged before responding. "as long as its before paps is up, sure."

 

"Deal." You gave him a little smile before you moved yourself to better face him. You still had your tea, which had grown cold but whatever flavor it was it didn't taste at all bitter like normal teas did when it cooled off enough. With a cookie left, you figured you were probably prepared for whatever Sans was about to throw at you.

 

"so, uh, i remember you mentioned before that you read stories about monsters, right? okay so, then you know how the humans declared war and all that before the barrier was put up, correct?" You nodded.

 

"Alright, to elaborate a bit more, for quite a few hundred years we lived under the mountain. some had families and tried to make a new life. others decided to wait, hoping that one day the barrier would fall, which would only happen if there was seven human SOULs to break it; the equivalent of which was used to make it. hope overtook the underground when a small child named chara fell in."

 

"Chara?"

 

"yeah, i know, odd name for a kid. but, everyone became hopeful when the news spread. it was the child of the king and queen, asriel, who had found them and brought them to the capital. it was because of asriel that no one harmed them as they made their way, and ultimately why the king and queen took the child in as their own. with chara there we were half way towards freedom. all that was needed was a artificial monster or human SOUL and asirel or chara could cross the barrier and seek help to destroy it; everyone could be free."

 

"but, things...turned for the worst. chara became sick, and died. Asriel absorbed their SOUL and brought the body of chara out of the barrier to see the flowers as part of their final wish. However, they were not very lucky once outside of the barrier. a group of fearful humans ended up injuring asriel  thinking he had killed chara, but he refuse to fight back. asriel headed back into the barrier with chara, dying beside the body of their human sibling."

 

There were tears in your eyes, you couldn't help it, there was a sour pain within your heart for the death of a child you could never meet.

 

"Thats so sad..."

 

"he was a good kid. asriel would have made a fine leader. he had the gentleness of his mother and the  strength of his dad. chara…well, its all second hand from the frisk, but they weren’t as kind as everyone thought them to be."

 

“What did Chara do? Hell, what could Chara do, they were just a kid right?”

 

“yeah, asriel’s age actually. but i’m not sure what really happened, _tibia_ honest. ” You groaned at the joke. “hey, there is never a bad time for a joke.”

 

“Sans, if you don’t take this seriously, I think I’m going to have to get _sternum_ with you.” You tried to keep a straight face, frowning in an attempt of fake disapproval. You didn’t last long, breaking into a laugh as soon as you heard Sans snort in laughter.

 

“that was pretty good!”

 

"Thanks, I blame my Dad. Anyway, back to your ‘long story’. How does this all have to do with the timeline? Would it be timelines?!"

 

"i'm getting there. anyway, the king in his grief declared war on all the humans in the underground, saying that any more that fell down should be captured and killed for their SOUL’s. he gave us hope again, even if it was in the form of violence. the queen left, and for quite a while no one knew where she had gone. toriel had taken up home in the ruins, doing what she could to try and protect any humans that fell down."

 

"now, here is where things start to get odd. it was around this time that alphys, the small female monster you saw undyne with earlier? well, she's a scientist and had been doing some experiments for the king. i didn't find this out till later but, alphys had injected the first flower that grew where asirel had fallen with what's called 'determination'." You cocked your head to the side, how in the hell would you inject an emotion into a flower of all things.

 

"You mean, she injected a flower with...non-physical emotional stuff?"

 

"uh, well, its more of a type of SOUL magic. you see, humans and monsters have SOUL's, and when a human dies the SOUL can last outside of the body while a monster's have hardly enough of a SOUL to keep their bodies holding together. with death most of the time the SOUL can only been seen for a fraction of a second, if it even is. only with boss monsters can you ever see a monster’s SOUL for longer than that."

 

"That sounds...rather horrible, Sans. How can you say that monsters don't have much of a soul? It’s like saying you’re less than a human somehow and that’s just a plain lie, Sans!" It frustrated you, the fact that monsters were being seemingly put below humans with having 'less of a soul'. Sans, Papyrus, Toriel, all of them were sweet caring people. They had a shit ton more soul in them then a lot of humans you knew off hand.

 

"oh, right. i forgot to explain. i don't mean soul as in what makes your personality or what not. that’s mostly just social fueled conspiracies. no, i mean SOUL, or 'Source Of User Limitations'. the more SOUL someone has, the longer their SOUL will manifest after death. this is also why monsters don't have SOULs that last that long, our lack of limitations allow us to use magic; the more SOUL a monster has, the more it will literally weigh down our bodies and drain us of our magic.”

 

“however, for both monsters and humans, when their SOUL is destroyed outside their body, they die; so, as bad as the word 'limitations' sound, its a necessary thing for us each to hold ourselves together. think of it as glue holding everything that makes ‘you’ .  without a little bit of SOUL holding monsters together, we turn to dust. without a lot of SOUL holding a human together, you kind of just crumple to the floor and die, mind completely gone.”

 

It was a lot to take in. But, then again, so was the fact that monsters really existed and you accepted that pretty well. Maybe it was the idea of this SOUL stuff that you were having a hard time wrapping your head around.

 

"So...you're 'SOUL' is a physical thing that can manifest? And it's your 'Limitations' yet you die without them?...Sans, wouldn't it make more sense for it to be something like 'Source Of User Life'?"

 

"it would, however for both monsters and humans without it you are technically 'dead', but not completely. your body and my magic will still exist in some form and functions kinda separately from it. without it we both would fall apart, but at the same time nothing that makes it up needs it to exist. without a little bit of SOUL, monsters turn to dust. likewise, humans just kind of become these empty shells.”

 

"That makes sense… I guess.. It's just a bit weird to think about and since I've never really seen a 'SOUL'. Its a little hard to believe."

 

"i can show you, if you would like.”

 

"Um..." You took the last sip of your tea as you thought about it. If what Sans was saying was true, then a SOUL was something you should guard and protect; even if it really was just all the 'limits' holding you back. But, you figured that if you were going to get Sans to trust you, to tell you more about what was happening, then trusting him with this would be a good start.

 

"..Sure. I mean, why the hell not, right?" Sans leaned back, his grin falling from his face.

 

"well, i, uh,” He started as he looked off to the side, away from you, and rubbed the back of his head. “i didn't really think you'd take me on the offer. are you sure? this is your SOUL we're talking about."

 

"Sure. I trust you, Sans." You swore for a moment there was a blue haze the crossed his face, but it was just dark enough that you weren't completely sure. He coughed into a closed fist, clearing his throat.

 

"right, okay then. so, just stay still. this wont hurt, but it may feel strange."

 

Sans closed his eyes, not seeming to really do anything in particular. You thought that it would be something he would do with his hands, or magic. Instead, as he sat there doing, as far as you could tell, nothing until you felt a quick series of tugs in the center of your chest. You knew that spot, it wasn't so unfamiliar to you since it was the part that hurt every time you had seen the barrier when it still existed but it set off small alarms in your mind at the sudden movement. Your vision flickered for a moment, going pitch black with each pull.

 

Once it was done you could feel the space had moved. It felt tight and stretched, not painful, but close to it. The room was filled with a bright pink light. You looked down and a few inches from your chest was floating a neon pink heart about the size of a small cat. You groaned, suddenly wishing someone would gag you with a spoon; pink was your most hated color.

 

"what's wrong? you okay?"

 

"It's pink!" Sans was quiet, silently blinking at you and his face blank until he  suddenly snorted, bursting into laughter so hard he was holding his stomach. He was loud enough that it might have woke up Papyrus. "Sh! Sans! You're going to wake up Papyrus!"

 

"sorry, its just that out of all the things you could be upset about, its the _color_! " He quickly clasped a hand over his mouth as he continued to laugh. You cracked a small smile but continued to try to scowl at the giggling skeleton.

 

"Well, I hate the color pink! Can't blame me for the cruel irony that is fate."

 

"hehe, well, i could see being upset about your SOUL being out of your body, or maybe the vulnerability, but the color!...i never thought i'd say this but, i think you're my favorite human." Sans said it with the widest smile you've seen him give you.

 

You could feel your face grow hot at his words. You crossed your arms against your chest, trying to give yourself a physical feeling of being together while mentally you knew you were a wreck. Why was a skeleton monster even able to make you feel like this? You had to get away from this topic; you needed time to figure out your feelings later.

 

"So, anyway. This is a SOUL. What I don't understand is how this is a 'Limitation'."

 

"well, its a bit hard to explain but they're more of a learned thing. for example, if you take a very young child they will have a SOUL with far less limitations, while an adult had build and learned plenty of which they govern themselves with. the limitations within a SOUL can be read, but it takes years of studying SOULs and magic to be able to."

 

"Oh...well, do you know anyone who can? I mean, it would be kind of fun to see what mine are!" You said brightly. It was different, it was magic, and it wasn’t someone else it was yours. You wanted to know everything you could about your own SOUL and it sounded like the first step was understanding what exactly was holding your back.

 

"i didn't say i couldn't." Sans winked at you and you were starting to wonder if he was being more snarky with you because he was comfortable or if the lack of sleep was starting to get to him. You decided to go with a lack of sleep.

 

"Oh, so the skeleton who tells all those _rib_ -ing jokes knows about more than how to be a bone-head?" You replied with a smirk.

 

"i'm more than just a professional comedian. _femur_ me for a bit here, eh? "

 

"I will only if what you have to say really is _humerus_." You swore this skeleton slowly corrupting you, but you hadn't decided if it was a good thing or a bad thing.

 

" _ulna_ better not be lying, cause I'll hold you to it. " You couldn't hold back your laughter anymore, he really was a master pun-ster. "so, let me see." Sans leaned forward, propping himself up with one hand as he brought his face closer to your SOUL.

 

Though the SOUL was at least a good foot from your body, you could feel Sans's breath. It wasn't as if the heart was limb on the outside of you, it was more as if the heat of his breathing could be felt by every fiber of your being. You were starting to understand why Sans had been a bit skittish with bringing out your SOUL. You could feel a shiver travel through you, and you fought your mind to try and keep it in the present and not lost to the feeling.

 

"huh."

 

"Huh, what?"

 

"nothing, you just remind me a lot of the kid. they didn't have a lot of limitations either."

 

"Okay… that doesn't tell me anything."

 

"well, i can tell yours is rather soft and malleable, which means the limitations you have are probably limited to very few."

 

"Then what are they, Sans?"

 

"hey, you need to really know how to read SOUL's to be able to determine that."

 

"I thought you said you knew how to read them!"

 

"i didn't say i could either."

 

You couldn’t stop the smile from pulling at your lips. You were not sure if you should be frustrated with Sans or if you should love him for his unexpected wit. But, at the very least he would definitely keep you on your toes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also, cause it wont be said in the story, I kind of imagine that there was/is more than just the main 7 colors of SOULs. X3


	15. Physical Connection

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “You are such an ass, Sans!” You said with a laugh. You couldn’t hate him, there was just something about him that always made you feel light. It was nice being around someone who could appreciate jokes in all its forms.
> 
> “you know…” He said slowly, making his way back towards your SOUL. “there are a few other things I could tell you about it. even if I am no expert.”
> 
> “If this is another bone pun…”
> 
> “naw.” Sans said, crawling across the couch on his hands and knees towards you. You flinched at the unexpected movement, you would have tried to back up but you were already against the armrest on your side. You had nowhere to go. “but, if i did, i already know you would find it humerus.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is the next chapter! Again, I hope that you all enjoy this as much as I did!!
> 
> Please make sure to leave a comment and kudos! Thanks everyone! :D
> 
> Next Chapter: 4/8/2016

“You are such an ass, Sans!” You said with a laugh. You couldn’t hate him, there was just something about him that always made you feel light. It was nice being around someone who could appreciate jokes in all its forms.

 

“you know…” He said slowly, making his way back towards your SOUL. “there are a few other things I could tell you about it. even if I am no expert.”

 

“If this is another bone pun…”

 

“naw.” Sans said, crawling across the couch on his hands and knees towards you. You flinched at the unexpected movement, you would have tried to back up but you were already against the armrest on your side. You had nowhere to go. “but, if i did, i already know you would find it humerus.”

 

“S-see! I knew it!” You said laughing nervously. You told yourself that he had told his joke, he was going to move back to his side of the couch, he wasn’t going to get any closer, and was going to let your heart stop beating so fast in your chest. He didn’t stop, continuing to approach until he was just a few inches from your SOUL with a devilish grin on his face.

 

“well, tibia good friend, i thought i would show you what SOUL’s can do. they’re not just good for fighting or telling who a person is.” He drew even closer, soon you could again feel his breath on the surface of your SOUL, tingling sensation running up and down your body uncontrollably. You didn’t want to admit it, but you already knew that you wanted nothing more than for him to come even closer.

 

“but,” He said as he drew away from you, you whimpered internally as the removal of his breath. “i’d have to touch your SOUL to do it.”

 

You cursed yourself, the effects of what he had been doing was not as well hidden as you had hoped. You breath was fast, you were gripping the couch, and when you paid attention you could feel just how hot your face felt. Sans knew what he was doing, and by the wide grin on his face he was loving every second of what he was doing to you.

 

But, how did you feel? You had spent all this time chasing Sans, trying to help and be a part of this, but was that really the reason? He made you feel happy, and there was some kind of deep feeling that lead you to believe that, maybe, there was even more to him; more that you could end up loving.

 

“so, what will it be?”

 

You knew that, past all of your other feelings, you did want this. Past all of your worries you wanted nothing more than to be close with Sans. Though this was a little bit on the extreme side, you were still wanting to do it. Something in you trusted him, believed that he would never be one to harm you. Breathlessly, you nodded, a small smile playing on your lips. Sans closed his eyes, his smile changing to a much warmer, kinder one.

 

“well then,” He reached out, holding a single finger above the surface of your SOUL, eyes now open and staring deep into yours. “lets get started then.”

 

The moment he touched your SOUL you saw sparks in your eyes. You let out a loud gasp, unable to hold it back as Sans began to play with your SOUL.

 

“you know.” He said as he cradled it, running his warm boney hands down the sides, feeling the curves and softness of your SOUL. Your body was shaking, your hands holding desperately onto the couch, All over your body all you could feel was pleasure, crashing seas of warmth and desire filling your every nerve. You had been with people before, but never had your entire body been given such a sensation. You no longer knew where you were, all you knew was that you wanted Sans to never stop touching you.

 

“when you brought out your heart... when i got to see all of you… i was actually a bit shocked.” He moved his hand back up the length of your SOUL, coming to the small rounded bumps at the top. You could feel a new sensation that felt like electricity buzzing through you. It wasn’t unpleasant, instead you could feel your lower body twitch with excitement.

 

“but, seeing how open, how accepting you are. its really made me think…” He placed each of his thumbs on the front of your SOUL, in the middle of each soft curve of the heart. Gently, he started to rub in small circles with them while his fingers on the others side clenched and massaged carefully.

 

“Sans!” You couldn’t hold yourself back, moaning Sans’s name as your body started to twitch and squirm. It was all overwhelming, every nerve you had was being touched and played with by Sans. Yet it wasn’t enough, you could feel yourself on the precipice of cumming but no matter how much Sans did or what he did, it wasn’t enough. You needed him to touch your body too, to give you some kind of release and end this pleasure torture.

 

He kept you like that, writhing under his skilled fingers for what felt like an eternity, skillfully moving you to full satisfaction.

 

The rest of the night closed rather uneventfully.

 

Following much punnery, Sans finally opened up to the fact that, while he himself couldn't tell you the type of SOUL you had, he did have the Alphys' Brand® SOUL Checker 9000 in his workshop. Volunteering to promptly retrieve the device, Sans exited the room.

 

You yourself barely noticed the absence, idly nodding your head to the suggestion. You still found the discovery that your literal soul was the color of Princess Peach just typical of the life by this point. The growing mental dissonance caused by your softening views on necrophilia was troubling as well.

 

"I don't know where it all went wrong, Mom!" you proclaim miserably, your head in your hands.

 

"Where what all went wrong?" an inquiring Sans asks.

 

"Oh, uh, nothing!" you stammer while turning to face the skeleton. You notice what appears to be a rather rusty screwdriver in one hand and what appears to be an old tin can in the other. "Don't worry about it, I'm just talking to myself as its so late." you finally say.

 

"huh. well, okay then." he smiles. "anyways, I managed to find the SOUL Checker, and I've got it scanning you as we speak." Glad for the distraction, you hold still while red lights emerge from the can-like object, scanning you head to toe. You could see the red glow bouncing off of your SOUL and reflecting on Sans’s face.

 

"and... done." speaks Sans, the lights clicking off.

 

"It appears that your SOUL is actually attributed to ‘pizza’. I will say, I honestly almost had you pegged as a more ‘ketchup’ SOUL type like myself, but I'm sure that Papyrus will want to talk to you now." You found that this new discovery might actually have been the least disconcerting of the night, so you accepted it unprotestingly.

 

"What SOUL does your brother have?" You asked.

 

"you saw it in action just a while ago, don't you remember?" he spoke, winking as he did so. "he's attributed to ‘spaghetti’, so I'm sure he'll be happy when I pasta along the information."

 

You both laughed at the forced joke and a shorter exchange of puns ensue.

 

You can't remember it too well, but you're sure that there's enough pasta puns on the internet that if you really wanted to hear some, you could just use Google.

 

Sans eventually proceeds to twist your SOUL back in with the screwdriver he'd retrieved. You found yourself with a rather close view of the handsome specters rounded head. Again, questions of thanatophilia and the strange similarity between Sans' and your father's bare scalps enter your mind. Awkward silence and Papyrus' distant snores alone fills the air. Finally, your SOUL back in place, Sans stands back up.

 

"anyway, it's gotten really late, so we should probably get some sleep. the couch here is okay; right next to the window and such. there's blankets in that closet and if you need anything else, just let me know. with that, I guess I'll see you in the morning, pal."

 

You again just nod your head as the skeleton slowly exits the room. He turns towards you again smiling, then flips off the light, leaving the room in darkness. Quickly retrieving your blanket, you exhaustedly lay down. Eyes closed, sleep comes almost immediately.

 

All is quiet in the house.

 

\--------------------------

 

The shuffling of footsteps on the hard ground calls you back from sleep. You hear heavy breathing as the figure approaches. Finally, the sound of shuffling stops.

 

You feel thick fingers begin to nudge your shoulder. "hey, buddy. you were asleep. hope you slept well."

 

"Oh god, Sans, you scared me! I was sleeping well for a bit, but you just woke me up."

 

"sorry about that," he apologized. "i just remembered I had a question I forgot to ask you. do you want to go to the bone zone?" he said without missing a beat.

 

"Umm w-what...? Go to the b-bone z-zone?" you unsuccessfully stammered at the unexpected question.

 

"Wait, what?" replied the skeleton. "I just wanted to ask if you knew who Michael Jordan was."

 

"Sorry, I m-must have misheard." you said, blushing beginning to recede. "Anyways, I do know of Michael Jordan, yeah. Why do you ask?"

 

"I just wanted to ask if you knew why he was famous, my amigo," the still-smiling skeleton said.

 

"Oh… Well, he's a really famous basketball player. I'm not sure if you've heard of basketball, but it's a really popular sport where some players try to score the ball in the other team's hoop on a big court".

 

"that's good to know actually, buddy. You see, we actually have a really similar game in the Underground" said Sans, a glassy look suddenly crossing his eyes. He continued, "i'm actually pretty famous for my proficiency in it, chum. There's even a game based off me on Steam on the subject." he said, smile wider than you'd ever seen it before as he stared into your eyes.

 

"Uh… That's pretty cool to hear," you slowly said, strangely beginning to find yourself nervous at your friend's close proximity. "I do actually like Steam, but I can't say I've ever heard of this sport. What's it called?" you asked, hoping to break the off-putting atmosphere.

 

Sans continued to stare in your eyes for a moment, holding so still and looking so foreign, you began to wonder if he was real. Suddenly, he leaned back standing upright. A cold blue light flicked into view in his left eye.

 

"Getting dunked on."

 

You suddenly feel what seems like a baseball bat striking the back of your head. Everything fades to black for the second time this night.

 

\--------------------------

 

You awaken upright gazing at a pitch-white picture. Despite it being summer, you see what appears to be snow covering the ground. You notice the cold next, even seeing your breath in the night air.

 

You try to look around, but find little freedom. You are bound tightly to a pine tree. In every direction of sight, you see similarly foreign trees and snow covering the soil. You struggle in vain to even lift your head to better review the new surroundings, but quickly tire out.

 

The night is again entirely silent excluding perhaps what seemed the like the distant hums of upbeat polka in the distance...

 

You found yourself missing Papyrus.

 

"Hello?" you finally ventured. "Is anybody out there?!" Walking from behind your field of vision, Sans seamlessly moves to stand in front of your bound form.

 

"i was beginning to wonder when you'd finally wake up." calmly remarked the skeleton.

 

"Sans, what's going on? How did I get here? The last thing I remember, we were talking, and then-" you cut off slowly, the memories coming back more clearly. Sans seemed almost as not to hear you, slowly turning his head to look up.

 

"it's a pretty nice night out down here, wouldn't you agree? Sure, you can't see the sky, but after eternity, I have to admit it starts to grow on you."

 

"This is the Underground? I'm not sure what's going on Sans, but if something's wrong, I can-"

 

"let me just stop you right there," he said, turning back to look at you the lone blue eye again floating behind his irises, like a distant moon.

 

You felt all the veins in your body begin to pulse and your voice freeze in your throat with it. You SOUL was now floating in front of you again. Instead of the expected pink it was now a deep blue. Though it was a much better color than pink, it filled you with a deep fear. With this Sans seemed pleased as the smile never left his face.

 

"i would like to tell you a story. Hopefully that should clear some things up for you, home slice-bread slice-dawg." He stopped. Suddenly shaking his head, the light just as suddenly disappearing from his eye, he turned back to you.

 

"thinking about it, I don't think I've ever spoken your name. I can't say I'm quite sure why honestly, buddy. I mean, I even know what it is... It honestly feels rather convoluted on my part not to, so sorry about that. Seeing the circumstances though, I feel it rude to at least not call you by name at least once, My’dear Reedur."

 

For just a moment, he reminded you of the former Sans and you felt slightly more calmed by the thought. The moment then unfortunately passed, however, and you again saw the same former intensity, almost as if the intermission had never occurred. Again you found yourself unable to so much as even move, pinned firmly to the tree behind your back.

 

"our story starts with a little revenant living in the middle of a frozen tundra underground," he said, the smile masking the depth of his words.

 

"life wasn't so bad though. As far as frozen wastelands went, it was a pretty good neighborhood. The neighbors were at least okay. Had a big garage with lots of storage space. Had plenty of ketchup stored in the fridge. Even once had a mad scientist as a best friend, so I can't say it wasn't fine for a while." Sans paused for a moment, then continued.

 

"have you ever seen the light of a thousand suns die?" he asked, the pressure on you back subsiding for a moment, almost as if he expected an answer even.

 

You found yourself, though able to speak, with nothing to say.

 

"i guess that's to be expected; all things have to eventually end. What made it unbearable was that it couldn't stay ended, however." The pressure resumed itself, doubling its efforts and applying more tightly than ever.

 

"i searched and searched, but all the part-time work in the world couldn't satisfy my growing boredom!" Sans spoke, more intensely than heard before.

 

"i took all the jobs. Every single one. Before I knew it, I had worked so much overtime, that even between timelines themselves, I was still entitled to a break. Work filled the void so well, but I must admit it came at great cost. With so much free time for philosophical quandary, I began to question everything I assumed of the world around me."

 

"in a world filled with humans and so few monsters, can a sentry ever really catch 'em all? Should I even stop a human such as yourself; or am I still on break? Is there really an infinite amount of bad puns out there; or had my life really been entirely for naught?"

 

"These things and many more weighed on my mind. but," He said as you could feel the grip on you tighten further, nearly choking you. “you’re probably wondering what the hell this has to do with your story, buddy-chum-pal-amigo-chummy-chum-chum-pal.”

 

“you see, like I told you earlier, I have a little something I wanted to let you in on. a special little secret for just you and me. no one else needs to know, not papyrus, not frisk. just something special between best buds.”

 

He started walking towards you, the hairs standing on your neck as the sound of his slippers in the snow reached your ears. Sans was now inches away from you, the lights of his eyes gone. He removed his left hand from his parka and with a quick snap of his fingers several hovering bones of white and blue appeared and beside them two large bovine-esk heads with white eyes glared at you. You felt as though all the blood had been drained from you and replaced with ice.

 

He leaned forward. You could feel his breath on your face, his was smile wide and nearly demonic. With a chuckle, he finally spoke the words you were sure to be your last.

 

“Happy April Fools, bitches!”

 

**Dogsong plays in the distance**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OKAY!!!
> 
> So yeah, April fools chapter I worked on with my roommate! X3 I was planning to do one anyone and she wanted to chip in as well and so we have this XD
> 
> The REAL CHAPTER is going to be posted right after this, BUT
> 
> ***Please know anything and everything in this chapter is NO CANON FOR THE STORY! (all caps just in case anyone missed it!! XD)***
> 
> I do hope it gave you some laughs and was a fun silly little prank. Make sure to listen to Dogsong on your way out because its perfect X3
> 
> and NOW!! On to the REAL chapter!! Enjoy!! XD


	16. The CORE

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Personal Log 30. Year 201X, July 6th. ." Gaster was being followed by the grey metallic sphere that was SID as he walked through the halls of his lab. "Sans has been distant since our last encounter. I have attempted conversation at many points, but he has kept it all to a minimum. I am saddened that out of his normal conversation he has not relented on his 'jokes'."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ***THIS IS THE REAL CHAPTER 15!!!***
> 
> and I really hope that you all stayed with me for this! XD
> 
> okay, so to be honest, I've *always* wanted to do something for April Fools and never really got to, so I'm really hoping the last chapter didn't scare anyone away and that you all will be sticking around for more *actual* story!
> 
> This is a Gaster Chapter and one of my more favorite ones and so I hope that you all very much enjoy it too!
> 
> Please feel free to leave a comment of kudos of course and I hope that you all enjoy the real chapter X3
> 
> Next Chapter Update: 4/8/2016

_"Personal Log 30. Year 201X, July 6th. ." Gaster was being followed by the grey metallic sphere that was SID as he walked through the halls of his lab. "Sans has been distant since our last encounter. I have attempted conversation at many points, but he has kept it all to a minimum. I am saddened that out of his normal conversation he has not relented on his 'jokes'."_

_Gaster continued down the long hallway, he was heading to see Alphys and check on her project since she had refused to come out much since she had started it. Though Gaster was all for locking oneself in a lab and focusing on work, he had to admit he was slightly worried for the young scientist due to the duration of which she had cut herself from._

_"I am hoping that my invitation for him to see the CORE will prove to be apt in the rekindling of conversation. However, today I have already placed aside some time in order to oversee some of Alphys's work as I have not received any updates from her in a few days. The situation with Sans is not pressing, and thus can wait. End Log."_

_Gaster walked up to the door at the end of the hall, the door automatically opening, allowing him entrance to the vast space that was the power core room. Inside he saw huge amounts of cables hooked into the power core, various colors coded to tell you what type of thing it was giving power to; as long as you knew the codes. At the end of the cables was a large rectangular metal body, the face of it covered in square LED lights. There was a pair of half-assembled mechanical arms off to the side, one of the limbs was split open, internal cables poking out in random directions. Two claw like hands with two blue and green cables leading back to the base where they would eventually be mounted to._

_In front of the robot was Alphys, a yellow reptilian monster of very short stature. She had a welding torch in hand, attaching the base for the left arm, a large metal mask with a black visor to protect her from the blinding tip of the flame. Gaster waited till she was finished, just lazily watching the shower of sparks and flame as she welded._

_“T-there! Now, all I have to do i-GAH!” Alphys had turned around and upon seeing Gaster screamed from the unexpected figure as Gaster flinched from the sudden yell. “G-g-gaster! S-sorry, I didn’t s-see you there!”_

_Gaster quickly apologized, signing as quickly and as often as he could that he was deeply sorry for scaring her for he most certainly did not mean to._

_“I-its fine G-Gaster! Just, p-please don’t do it again…” Alphys took a few deep breaths, trying to get the facilities of her body to settle down._

_Gaster signed that he would do his best to better announce his arrival at time during her work, but that he was indeed glad to see that she was well and functioning._

_He glanced at the large robot it seemed that she was building, there were small lights blinking on the front, a few holes underneath the LED panel with one of them housing knob; he suspected there would be more like it placed in soon. He looked back to Alphys who had made her way across the room to a desk she had placed in there, it was covered in empty cup of ramen noodles, various papers covered in mechanical schematics, and the occasional anime figurine._

_“S-so, Gaster, w-what brings you d-down here?”_

_Gaster waited till Alphys was done messing with a few of the scattered things on her desk that she had become temporarily fixated on. Once he had her attention he informed her that he had come to ask her to join him in a project. Quickly adding that, at the moment, he was more curious as to what the project she was currently working on was._

_“O-oh. T-that’s for Hapstablook. H-he asked me to make h-him a body. It’s far from f-finished so its not t-that impressive…:_

_Gaster motioned that her belief that her work was not impressive was nonsense; quickly reminding her that it was her advents that allowed for the elevators around the capital to even function. Alphys started to blush and cover her head, rapidly mumbling to herself too fast for Gaster to hear. She seemed to be in a panic, arms franticly moving and occasionally covering her face, her breathing rapid and her eyes making darting glances as though she was looking to run._

_Gaster was unsure of what steps would need to be taken to try and calm Alphys. His skills in social interactions already low if not non-existent, as proven by the situation regarding Sans. It would be unfavorable for Alphys to dislike him as well as it might affect the progress on the CORE; as skilled as Gaster was, he was not skilled enough to be able to finish it alone._

_"Lwasjd, T lx dzccj tq T fadpe jzf. Awpldp, cpwli."_

_Gaster knew she didn't understand him, but he guessed that maybe verbal stimulus, even if she didn't understand it, would help. As much as he tried to calm her, it sadly didn't help. Instead, he was forced to wait until she calmed herself, becoming coherent again._

_"S-sorry! I’m n-not used to c-compliments..."_

_Gaster signed to her letting her know it was okay, and that he was just glad that she had managed to calm down. He quickly changed subjects, hoping to avoid another instance of her being put into another panic educed anxiety attack. He informed her that he wanted her to meet him and Sans at the CORE. He wanted to show them the main project he had recruited them for._

_"I t-thought it was f-for the determination e-experiments?"_

_Gaster shook his head. Though the King and Queen requested it, he signed, the experiments were more for the eventuality of providing help to their child Chara. They would not be able to break the barrier alone, and the child would need help in accomplishing this as an adult. They were the hope of the underground, their one chance to break free. It was only reasonable that they help the child any way they can._

_"Oh, r-right." Alphys blushed, again seeming like she was trying to find a place to hide._

_Gaster felt for her, he understood the feelings the young scientist was having, reassuring her that it was fine, that the King and Queen had requested for the tests to be done quietly anyways. No one was expected to know the reason, and he apologized for not having informed her sooner; he was not used to working with others yet._

_"Its f-fine, Gaster. S-so, what's at the CORE?"_

_Gaster signed for her to follow him, saying that he would show her and that Sans should be there soon as well._

_She followed him to the elevator, taking it to the right third level heading to the plateau that was the anchor to the only bridge leading to the CORE. Alphys followed Gaster in silence, her claws clicking against the grey stone. Gaster felt odd being able to hear that there was someone behind him, he was used to being alone when he did come there._

_Once inside, they took another lift to reach the highest level of the CORE. They walked in silence as they past blue neon lights that lit their way. Gaster could hear the hum of the circuits that ran in the floors from the hallways in the distance. They headed into the doorway that normally would be the way towards the capital, a black floored lift, the largest in the entirety of the Underground, with Sans already waiting there for them._

_"T lx rwlo jzf nlxp, Dlyd."_

_" So, uh, what'd you call us here for, Gaster?"_

_Gaster could see beads of sweat on Sans's forehead, his eyes slanted and worried creases on his brow. Gaster hoped that after this he would be able to repair the possible budding relationship with Sans, if it was an option._

_"DTO. Lnetglep eclydwletzy, aczeznzw $." SID, who had been following Gaster and Alphys quietly suddenly beeped, the front of the spherical machine flashing a small series of lights._

_"Translation protocol 4, activated."_

_"Eslyv jzf, DTO." SID, flashed again, responding back in a lower than normal voice, loud enough that the synthetic vocal sounds echoed through the room._

_"Thank you, SID." Gaster smiled as SID successfully translated his words._

_"DTO htww eclydwlep qczx spcp ld T piawlty. Awpldp mp aletpye ld estd eclydwletzy aczrclx td ty mpel."_

_"SID will translate from here as I exemplary. Please be waiting as this translation program is in the first stage beta." Gaster frowned, as he moved to the back of the room where the door was, pressing a few keys on the panel there._

_Gaster was dissatisfied that SID still had some bugs, though it was to be expected as this was SID's first beta testing. Gaster still had been hoping his recent additions to SID's repertoire would have solved the issues he had been experiencing. Quickly he apologized, SID translating the phrase well to Gaster's pleasure._

_"I am sorry for any miss-spoken words, I can sign if there are any words you want me say again."_

_" sounds good, buddy." Sans replied, while Alphys stared at SID._

_"W-what /is/ SID, Gaster?"_

_"SID is a Self-aware Intelligent Data-processor; a machine containing a fake intelligence I have created. Its still a work in process, not fully self-aware yet, but once finished it will be fully moving without any magic." Gaster cringed at SID's sentence. He would have to bare it for now, but for the sake of his own sanity he was going to make sure that SID knew the word 'artificial'. He was glad SID was at least able to pick out fairly similar words._

_“Using /NO/ magic?!” Gaster had never seen someone move as quickly as Alphys so suddenly. Even Sans’s magic flared at the abruptness of Alphys as she started to circle SID, inspecting him from every side that she could, despite the height SID was floating at._

_“What is the metal SID is made out of? What type or processor did you install? How many watz of power does it take for him to run? Does he need to charge? How many transistors did you need to use in the building? Did you create his motherboard yourself or salvage one? How on earth is he /not/ running on magic?! How can you even /say/ that I’m a technological genius when you’ve build /him/?!”_

_“Alphys, I would be happy to explain everything about SID, especially if it helps you progress with your work-“_

_“Seriously?!” Alphys yelled, causing Gaster to flinch at the volume of her voice. For someone he as deemed as so shy and quiet, he was impressive how vigorous of a woman she was when you got her in a more comfortable setting._

_“Yes, but first I need to show you both the CORE. The real reason I picked you both for help on my projects. Please watch your step, the floor will be moving.”_

_Gaster pressed a large rectangular button at the bottom of the pad, a smile playing on his face as he stepped back. There was a low metallic groan before the floor started to drop and lower itself. Both Sans and Alphys had to catch themselves at the sudden movement of the floor as the black lit platform started its decent._

_“W-what?!”_

_“ woah. hey, gaster, i thought this thing only went /up/.”_

_“It does not just rise, Sans. The lower portions of the CORE are only accessible with a code. This is to stop any unwanted entering.” It didn’t matter how much Gaster reassured himself he would be fixing the issue the moment he was done with all of this and back I how lab. Every time SID didn’t translate a word correctly it made he feel anxious and unnerved; he was very tempted to go back to signing. But, Gaster always saw his experiments and tests through, even if it was pushing his own patience._

_“ so then where are we going?” Sans was glancing around, moving closer to Alphys the further down the lift took them._

_“To the bottom of the CORE. Though the CORE it is used currently to provide a fair portion of electricity to the underground, that is not its purpose.” The floor came to a stop, a door opening at the southern end of the room. Gaster headed out of it, hoping that Alphys and Sans would follow._

_Unlike the above area, lit by blue neon lights, this level was encased in a purple hue. White lights ran along the bottom of the floor while purple florescent ran about the ceiling. The floor was tiled with the same grey hexagonal stones that were above on the main floor. The walls however were the only exception. Each wall was covered in a clear glass, small handles attached to the panels every few feet. Inside one could see the many wires, small leavers, and various other electronic devices within. It was less for show and more for access. Though most of the mechanical portions of the CORE were in place, there was still a lot of work that needed to be done._

_“The CORE is a Chrono-spatial Observational Reaction Enclosure. The real purpose of the CORE is to be able to see and measure the full extent of Time and Space manipulation, its effects, and the purposes that it can be used for.” Gaster glanced behind himself for a brief second checking to see if he was being followed by the others. He was pleased when he saw Sans and Alphys were following. Sans was fairly close with SID between him and Gaster. Alphys was a bit further behind, running her hands against the wall, eyes wide and mouth in a large grin._

_“Here is the mainframe of the CORE, the electronics are delicate at the moment, and only in partial completion and formation for the intent of the device. Alphys, I am hoping you would be willing to take a look at the mainframe sometime in the future.”_  
  


_“ gaster, this wouldn’t be the very same device you showed me the blue prints for, is it?”_

_“It very much is, Sans. For you, I was hoping you would be able to help me with the magic forms and calculations that would be needed for any tests to be done at all. As well as the math code for it to run.” They reached the end of the hallway, Gaster leading them through a door, into a brightly lit circular room._

_“ i don’t know, gaster. messing with time doesn’t seem to be the safest idea you’ve ever had.” Gaster stopped at Sans’s words. He had not been expecting Sans to be someone of a rejecter of his creation._

_“Sans, I can understand your worry towards the project. I too had them when I first started. But, Sans, this is more than just something to fulfil my curiosity. I know you both were born after the barrier, and that it seems unbreakable. But, as you both know magic, no matter the type is it can only last for so long. Sans, Alphys, with this device we would be able to use it to speed up the barrier’s life. If we got the CORE up and functional, we could use it to remove the barrier; all of monster kind would be free again to roam the surface!”_

_“I-isn’t that what Chara i-is meant to do?”_

_“Yes, but we would have to wait for the child to mature and be willing to gather help outside of the barrier. There is also the possibility of several more humans to fall down within the same time frame that Chara is alive. Each of these are un-measurable factors. This is more solid and sure to work; if we can get it running.”_

_Gaster turned away from the two and moved towards the eastern wall, flipping a few switches and checking a few of the dials idly. The topic was strangely becoming close at heart for Gaster, for he, like many others, had much hope placed on the child; the child could very well be their ‘savior’. But at what cost to the child? It was on their shoulders to save an entire species that their ancestors had once been at war with. It didn’t matter how mature of a child they might have been, it was a very heavy weight to hold up alone. Gaster knew that feeling of burden; if he could lift it from the child, he would._

_“ okay. i’ll give you that, gaster. besides, I like the idea of us saving ourselves more than our enemy having to do it.” Gaster froze, he was not sure if he had heard Sans correctly; it was not something he honestly expected of the skeleton. Gaster could feel his SOUL become oddly painful as he wondered if maybe that was the reason Sans had been acting so weird; maybe he had misjudged Sans’s reaction to him being half human._

_“H-how does it even w-work? What /is/ this metal, G-Gaster? It looks l-like the s-same as SID’s material. Is it the s-same?”_

_“Yes, Alphys. It is a special type of metal made by the Temmie’s in Waterfall. Though they refuse to tell me how they gather it, the metal has a specific ability that actually allows it to withstand time disturbances. It will never rust, become damaged, and with small tests I’ve performed, it seems to actually absorb the changes of time rather than be effected. With it I have encased the entirety of the CORE, SID, and a majority of the Lab in it. It’s the only way to take precautious with experiments of this nature.”_

_“As for how it works, the concept is simple, but finding the correct formulas are something of a challenge. It’s with the use of photons, a super-dense concentration of them, that we might be able to achieve this.”_

_“ gaster, i don’t think that shining light on the barrier is going to help.”_

_“No, it will not Sans. However, photons do not experience time. If there was a way to make them travel faster than they do already, to make them latch onto partials they are directed at; we could make the objects they touch essentially /time travel/.”_

_“ its impossible, gaster.” Sans’s face was dark, his voice low, pupils gone._

_“Sans, I do not understand. Science is about trying to understand the impossible, is it not?” Sans took a few steps towards Gaster who had turned to be able to face his smaller colleague. He was baffled by Sans’s actions, they did not make sense to him._

_“ you can’t take /light/ and use it to fuck with time. it’s impossible and you are just wasting time when we could be trying to find a real solution! you’re just like all the other /humans/, you want to keep us hidden and trapped! you don’t really want to help us at all!”_

_There was another twist of pain that reverberated through Gaster’s SOUL. Sadly, the hunch he had early had indeed been what Gaster had hoped it would not._

_“Sans, I am just as much a monster as you are.”_

_“G-Gaster, what is Sans talking about?”_

_“ he’s /half/ human, alphys! i had always wondered why others would always say to beware of you, now I get it.” Alphys went quiet, staring at Gaster, her hands brought in close to herself as she watched._

_Gaster sighed, he had expected this as a possible outcome; but he had been willing to take the chance of this result. He couldn’t help the pain he felt coursing through him though; he had hoped that the newer generation would have been able to see past the chemical makeup of one’s birth. He was sad that he was wrong._

_“He is not wrong, Alphys. I am half human, half monster by birth. This is not a fact I hid though, and I do understand if you both want to leave at this point in time.”_

_“ well then, we’ll be going. i think it would be about time to do some /real/ help for monster-kind. lets go, alphys.”_

_Sans headed towards the door, how slippers brushing against the ground with his footsteps. He stopped, seeming to be waiting for something. He turned around, glaring at Gaster for a moment, before looking to Alphys._

_“ come on, alphys. what are you waiting for?” Alphys stood there, unmoved, still rubbing her hands together and looking at the ground. She didn’t respond, but refused to look at Sans or Gaster._

_“ alphys, what’s the problem?” Sans said with venom on his tongue. Eventually Alphys did move, but not towards Sans. Instead, she headed towards Gaster, nails clanking against the ground, hands shaking as she rubbed them._

_“H-h-how can I h-help, G-Gaster?”_

_“ really, alphys? you’re going to side with a /traitor/? you’re going to help someone who is apart of the race that put us in here? that buried us away under a mountain to rot?!”_

_“I-I think it’s p-possible, Sans!” Alphys said turning towards Sans, her arms now at her sides balled into fists. “Y-you’re forgetting, he’s /h-half monster/ too! H-he’s down here and trapped /j-just/ like the rest of us! Y-you’re not the only one suffering, S-Sans! W-we all are! I-if this could w-work, Sans, if t-this could be finished, w-we could be out of here /tomorrow/!”_

_Gaster was blown away; he did not imagine such inner strength to come from Alphys. Gaster no longer cared of what Sans was doing, instead he was focusing all his efforts on trying not to let tears fall from his face. In all of his life, he had never had someone even come remotely close to saying what she had when it came to anything about him; for both his accomplishments or general person._

_“N-now, Gaster.” Alphys turned back to Gaster, her body still shaking but face bright with a smile. “W-what else c-can you tell me about the CORE?” Gaster quickly wiped his face, removing any tears that maybe have formed at the corners of his dark eyes._

_“Follow me, Alphys.” He lead her towards the north wall there was there was a console jutting out from the wall. He gestured towards the buttons and knobs, explaining each as he came to them._

_He did not hear any movement from Sans. No shuffling of feet to leave or close of the automatic door. Just silence from behind him and Alphys as he attempted to catch her up on the more intricate parts of the project. It was several minutes later when Sans’s voice cut him off in the middle of one of this explanations. The both of them turned around, a shiver running through them at the sight of Sans’s face overshadowed and dark as he spoke._

_“ i don’t like it.”Sans said in a lower voice then Gaster was accustomed to him using. “i don’t like it one bit, but alphys is right. i don’t trust you gaster, at all, but i’ll help. but, if this ends of being some kind of dooms-day device, you’re gonna have one hell of a /bad day/. are we clear, gaster?”_

_Gaster took a moment to contemplate Sans's implications and then nodded a confirmation to him. As much as Sans meant ill, Gaster was just happy that Sans was willing to even give this a shot. Though, he would be more cautious around Sans for now, he hoped that maybe they would again be able to start building some kind of resemblance of a friendship._

_“Glad to have your help, Sans. This project wouldn’t be able to work without you both. Or at least not as well as it could. Now, to explain further about the photons and time; I have a theory. Time is only part of the equation. Since normal means will not cause photons to speed up, it will have to be another force. However, though it is technically not a force, I believe /space/ will be the biggest contributing factor. What do you two think?”_


	17. The Fear

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Sans, you are an ass.” You said trying to hide the smile on your face and seem angry. Though Sans wasn’t giving you any answers, you had a feeling he probably did know what he was looking at. But, then it begged the question of why would he not tell you what he saw?
> 
> “my friend, i think you are mistaken. i’m clearly a skeleton and do not have an ass. therefore, i think you should stop before you /hamate/ yourself further.” You laughed, unable to hold your faked anger.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone and welcome to chapter 17!! (That is technically chapter 16, but thats okay!! XD)
> 
> So, here is a chapter with, again, a lot of answers, hopefully more questions, and I again really hope this doesn't come off as kinda wordy for sure. I do hope that you all like it still but if there are any issues please feel free to leave a comment!!
> 
> Please feel free to comment and leave Kudos! I always love hearing feed back for sure!!
> 
> Next update: 4/8/2016

“Sans, you are an ass.” You said trying to hide the smile on your face and seem angry. Though Sans wasn’t giving you any answers, you had a feeling he probably did know what he was looking at. But, then it begged the question of why would he not tell you what he saw?

 

“my friend, i think you are mistaken. i’m clearly a skeleton and do not have an ass. therefore, i think you should stop before you _hamate_ yourself further. ” You laughed, unable to hold your faked anger.

 

“Okay, that’s kind of stretching it, Sans.”

 

“i do what i can.” Sans gave you a shrug and a wink.

 

As Sans leaned back against the couch moving into a much more relaxed position again, your SOUL started to lower and quietly went back inside of you. You watched in awe as it did and could feel your body returning to normal; or as normal as it was going get. You weren’t sure how to view yourself now. SOULs were something all humans had, you’re wasn’t anything special but you didn’t know about them till now. In the end you chucked it into the mental pile you had created of ‘weird shit that’s happened’ and decided that was then end of it.

 

“Speaking of which, before we go back to the story, do you…think I could bother you for some more tea?” Sans let out a sigh, closing both of his eyes and crossing his arms against his chest.

 

“you’re really pushing your luck here, buddy. but okay, this is the last time.” Sans said with a laugh.

 

He was smiling through what he said, but you couldn’t truly tell if he was joking or not. He seemed to be, but it was hard to tell when he perpetually smiled. He took your mug and returned shortly with more tea, even though it was cold. You didn’t mind though, mostly just wanting something to keep your throat wet so you could talk a bit longer. You took a gulp of the liquid, feeling it run down the back of your throat, soothing the harsh pain for a bit longer.

 

“So, Alphys did experiments with parts of SOUL’s and injected it into a flower. How does that matter?”

 

“a whole ton.” Sans said as he gestured lazily with his left hand as he spoke. “you see, there are other parts that make up someone’s SOUL. In humans this can be a variety of things. bravery, justice, loyalty, acceptance, and even control is one. each SOUL has its own attributes and abilities if they even have the chance to manifest.”

 

“in monsters it’s the anchor for our magic. humans on the other hand, it allows them to keep their heavy physical forms running. all humans have latent magic, but not much since their bodies don’t need it. some can use it, but saying its rare is an understatement. a, uh,  good example would be the seven mages who made the barrier; they were the only seven from multiple countries. just to, uh, give you a bit of a picture how rare it is.”

 

“the flower that alphys took was from where asriel’s dust was, in a way, one that grew from asriel. the determination she injected forced something that was once dead to live again; but it wasn’t human and it wasn’t a monster. asriel came back in the form of a flower, but with no SOUL to guide him. that’s all i know though, and i’m not even sure how reliable that information is, since it came from frisk.”

 

“Frisk is the human kid that was here yesterday, right?”

 

“yep, kiddo has the most determination i’ve ever seen in a kid besides chara when they were around.” Sans went quiet after that, the obvious next question hanging over you both, waiting for you to answer. You swallowed another gulp of tea before speaking.

 

“So… Why don’t you trust them, Sans?”

 

“well… there is, uh, some history between us that we’ve decided to let go of… for now. at least until we can figure out how to stop flowey.”

 

“You’re really being cryptic, Sans. What history are we talking about?”

 

“its really not related; more personal than anything.”

 

“So, your not going to tell me?” Sans shook his head, a lazy smile on his face still. “No matter what?” Again, he gave you a quiet no. You let out a sigh, running a hand through your hair. “Fine. So, Asriel is Flowey, but Flowey is _just_ a flower right? So what the fuck is happening that is causing the world to reset over and over?”

 

“…well, uh, i don’t really remember much about.” You stared at Sans for a moment, hoping he was joking. Sans shifted a bit on his side of the couch, sensing that you were waiting for him to continue.

 

“well, a few years ago, when we had a few other humans fall down into the underground when me and alphys started to notice some repeated shifts in time. we never were able to figure out why, until frisk came to the underground. by then alphys had been able to create some technology that acted like time-capsule logs. they are very small watches able to hold a small amount of data outside of the resets. but, they could only hold so much. we were, uh, only able to put in small bits of information and hope they would trigger the resurgence of past memories and timelines.”

 

“what’s weird is, no matter what we have done we can never remember _how_ frisk managed to break the barrier or what exactly happened between frisk and flowey. the kid refuses to tell us either. but, ever since we were able to push past the previous reset, flowey’s been causing us trouble. from what frisk has been willing to tell me, flowey is trying to push the reset all the way back to when they got to the underground. frisk’s been doing as much as they can to stop that, halting the reset two weeks after that barrier broke. ”

 

“the rest i remember fairly clearly… when the most recent reset happens, flowey leaves the underground and spends these next month or two looking for specific SOULs. we, uh, still don’t know why though, but once he has six he uses his new powers and starts destroying the town. then comes the reset and we’re back at square one. sometimes its the kid and sometimes its flowey, but the reset always happens.”

 

You could feel your hands shaking as you listened. It all seemed crazy, farfetched, and irrational; but all of you knew it was true. The more Sans spoke the harder it was to breath and the more your hands started to sweat. It was the fear that you had, the knowing that the world was going to die and that it was Flowey’s doing. All you were missing was the actual memories of the destruction.

 

“Why couldn’t you have just _told_ me all this?”

 

“because the more involved you are, the more you remember, the harder it becomes to forget. trust me, there are a lot of things i would like to forget. hehe, alphys is lucky that way, she doesn’t remember as much as me and frisk, but it’s shown to be better that way. At least for her… i don’t even have to use my log anymore, i just remember. it’s like a curse though, even for frisk. you probably wouldn’t believe the stories i hear from toriel of the night terrors.”

 

“… Then that’s why-“

 

“i didn’t wanna tell you. yeah. this isn’t some fun adventure where you’ll come out alive each time and everyone’s all smiles and sunshine. i… wanted to spare you from that.” You stared into your mug, you couldn’t help but feel guilty for how far you pushed. There was no question in your mind that you would have done it again. But, from what Sans was saying, him just including you was another burden. You didn’t want to be that.

 

“So, then how do we fix this?” You moved your gaze to meet his and you could feel a determined fire burning in your chest. “What have you tried, Sans?”

 

“well, for a while me and alphys tried to find flowey in the underground, but he’s completely disappeared. in a few timelines we’ve tried searching the city, but its, uh, kinda hard to do, given the circumstances. we’ve also been working with frisk but, its honestly taking a lot out of them to just keep us here and not resetting back to before the barrier. without knowing where flowey is, we’re kinda screwed.”

 

“How does a _flower_ even gain that much power?!” You blurted out before you could stop yourself, or possibly articulate your words at least a little better.

 

“by absorbing human SOULs.”

 

“That’s..a thing?”

 

“yep. monsters, because of their lack of SOUL, can absorb human SOULs when a human dies. because monsters are adept at magic they can easily wield and pull the power out of the human SOUL once in control of it. but…” Sans paused, his eyes adverted from you.

 

“But what?” Sans looked away, turning his body from facing you to instead towards the TV.

 

“never mind. either way, that’s what’s happening.” He wasn’t even trying to hide it, but you weren’t sure if it was an invitation to pry or if Sans was really bad at mid-sentence lying.

 

“Come on, Sans. You said you would tell me everything you knew! I can understand not wanting to tell me personal stuff, but if I’m going to help I need to know everything. The sun is almost up right? So please?” He was quiet and somehow looked as though he was, sad. His eyes were half lidded as he just watched the wall, lost within himself. “Sans?”

 

“…there was a point in my life i will never forget. the day i feel this all started. it was the day asriel died, that morning i woke up and the world felt as though it wasn’t… real. i tried to get back, even though i didn’t know where to go back too…i knew there was something or someone missing…that it wasn’t right.”

 

“it was so off putting i even asked papyrus if he knew what was happening; it was after that i found no one, not even alphys knew. it was that day, as the king declared war on the humans, that i moved me and papyrus from the capital to snowdin. but, i never lost that feeling that someone or something was missing. every time since then i remembered what happened with asriel and chara, i get that feeling again.  that a monster controlling a human SOUL just…wasn’t right.”

 

“What _is_ supposed to be right then?” Sans’s expression continued to change, more emotion flooding his face in tiny waves. If felt as though he was holding back as much as he could and you were starting to wonder what exactly happened, or what Sans was really feeling.

 

“i’m not sure. research has never really been done on human and monster joining.”

 

“Sans,” There was a twisting inside of you, in the same place you knew where your SOUL now rested. There was something more he was not telling you, something important. “that’s not all of it, is it? I don’t care if its strange, you can tell me, Sans.” San remained quiet for a moment. You could hear his hands grip the couch as he struggled with continuing.

 

“its an impression i’ve had for a while. but there was… _someone_ who knew and told me once. something about how human  SOUL’s are so dense that _they_ will control the monster’s body; that it is impossible to change that. to do differently is like changing the laws of physics. but, i have no idea where I’m remembering this from or why. ”

 

“This person, do you think you forgot them because of a reset?” The more Sans talked about this person he forgot, the more interested you got as well. Sans seemed to remember everything, the fact that he forgot this person as well was enough cause for you to want to know more.

 

“no. its something… different. but, its just a feeling. nothing based on any kind of fact. so, that’s pretty much the end of it.”

 

You were at a loss, both for questions and for what the next steps in all of this should be. Yes, it was fantastic to finally know at least most of the answers you wanted, but Sans didn’t seem like someone who would just spill out their heart like this. The more you thought about it, the more you realized Sans just trusted you for what was probably the first time. However, you wished you could rewind, just a little bit, because the more you watched Sans the more he looked as it he was about to fall into pieces.

 

“Sans…” You decided to change the subject, give him an out. Maybe if you focused his attention more on you, he would be okay. “Why are you telling me this?”

 

“well, you, uh, said it yourself. you’re not going to give up. there is always a time and place for each fight, buddy. if you really want to know, if you’re really going to come searching for me every reset, then I’m not going to stop you.”

 

Sans’s tone was flat, matter-of-fact like. It wasn’t much of a distraction, but it was enough; and you got an answer to a question that had been bugging you as well. Only thing was that the answer bugged you, simply because he was not wrong.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I *just* realized that in the previous chapter's I didn't correctly format when Sans speaks about SOUL's, so after the posting of this chapter I will be fixing that!!
> 
> Also, decided to post a little bit early since I always seem to post a bit late XD


	18. Don’t Be Upsetti

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "SANS! HUMAN! WHAT ARE YOU BOTH DOING UP SO EARLY ON THIS SPECTACULAR MORNING?" Papyrus had just come out of his room, heading down the stairs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone and welcome to Friday!! X3
> 
> I'm very eager to be able to share this chapter, it is one of my favs for sure! (And yes, it is because Papyrus is again so much fun to write!!)
> 
> Anyway, since I don't have much to place here I will leave you all to the chapter! If you have any questions or comments or want to leave a kudos all are appreciated!!
> 
>  
> 
> Next Update: 4/11/2016

You were not sure how to respond to Sans. His reasoning was sound, you knew that if a reset happened right then you would still probably head back into the forest and wander around till you managed to find him again. However, as bleak as the next month or so sounded, if you remembered fully would you still look for him? Would it really be something you wanted to stick around for? Besides that, he said not everyone remembered. That only a small select few could bring their memories back from the other timelines, so then what made you so important that you remembered?

 

The more you were let to sit there and think, the more questions started to crop up in your mind. Who was Chara and Asriel? Or would it be Flowey? What about Frisk, who were they and why did Sans not trust them? Why was Asirel-Flowey so bent on destruction?

 

“So, why is Asriel-Flowey wanting to destroy everything? I mean, it just sounds like a bad superhero movie if they just want to see the world burn.”

 

“well, as far as frisk says, asriel and flowey are almost like different people. though, i am not sure why that is, but they get mad if anyone calls flowey, asriel.”

 

"Sans, wh-"

 

"SANS! HUMAN! WHAT ARE YOU BOTH DOING UP SO EARLY ON THIS SPECTACULAR MORNING?" Papyrus had just come out of his room, heading down the stairs.

 

You frowned, remembering the condition for you and Sans to even have this kind of conversation. You let out a small sigh, noting in your mind to ask more Flowey-Asriel related questions for later. At least you knew the name of the enemy now.

 

"hey paps, the human had a nightmare and so i was telling them a story to try and help them go back to sleep." You scoffed, a smile being brought back to your face at the idea that a story about everyone in the town dying would bring anyone happy dreams.

 

"WHAT?!" Papyrus suddenly leap from his position on the stairs, running towards you when his feet touched the ground. He planted his hands heavily on your shoulders, looking like he had tears in his eyes. "HUMAN, IT SADDENS ME THAT I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WAS NOT HERE TO HELP YOU IN YOUR TIME OF NEED! MY ONLY HOPE IS THAT MY BROTHER WAS ABLE TO PROVIDE YOU WITH COMFORT!"

 

You were not sure what to tell Papyrus. On one side of it, Sans finally gave you some closure on a lot of the questions and mystery that had been surrounding everything. On the other, you understood Sans’s want to keep such a heavy burden to himself. For now, you were just glad you knew. Maybe that was all you really needed to focus on; that right now you knew and right now you were happy to get the chance to help. That maybe there really could be a way for all of this to finally stop.

 

"Y-yes. Yes he did, Papyrus. You're brother is definitely good story teller." You said smiling again.

 

"I AM GLAD TO HEAR THAT, HUMAN! HE INSISTS THAT HE PRACTICE HIS STORY TELLING EVERY NIGHT BEFORE I REST AS TO HELP PREPARE ME FOR AN UPCOMING DAY OF ADVENTURE AND PUZZLE MAKING!" You heard Sans snicker from the other side of the couch.

 

"whatever you say, bro."

 

"IT IS WHAT I SAY, SANS!" Papyrus removed his hands from your shoulders to face his brother and scowled at him. He looked like he was going to say something to Sans, but instead he shook his head and placed his hands on his hips. "ANYWAY I CAN SEE THAT TODAY IS NEEDING AN EXTRA SPECIAL TOUCH! SANS, CONTINUE TO TAKE CARE OF THE HUMAN AS I CREATE US ALL A CULINARY WONDER!"

 

"uh, bro, i don't know if that’s really a good idea. our friend is still a bit sick."

 

"NONSENSE, SANS! THE FOOD OF THE GREAT PAPYRUS IS ALL ANYONE EVER NEEDS!" You had never heard someone sound as proud or as sure of something as Papyrus did. Papyrus headed into the kitchen, Sans hastily removing himself from the couch, following Papyrus.

 

"paps, your spaghetti is great, but-"

 

"THEN IT IS SETTLED, SANS!" You did your best to hold back laughter as Papyrus pushed Sans out of the kitchen. The antics of the two brothers was something you would be happy to watch any day. "I SHALL MAKE MY FAMOUS SPAGHETTI AND YOU CAN MAKE SURE THE HUMAN IS ALRIGHT!" Papyrus left Sans just outside of the kitchen's threshold, where the tile turned back into carpet before sprinting back out of sight. Sans sighed, walking back over towards you and flopping onto the couch in a huff.

 

"Don't worry, Sans. It might not be normal, but spaghetti for breakfast won’t hurt."

 

"if it doesn't kill you, i'll be surprised." Sans replied quietly, just enough for you to hear but still out of earshot of Papyrus. You couldn't help but laugh.

 

"Sans, it's just spaghetti."

 

"trust me, whatever you do don't eat it. i'll call toriel, have her bring you something instead." You ran a hand through your hair as you watched Sans. It seemed like he was being serious, but there was no way that someone could mess up spaghetti; right?

 

"That’s...fine, I guess? But I don't really want to hurt Papyrus's feelings. I at least want to try it."

 

"well, it's your funeral then."

 

"I'm sure I'll be fine, Sans."

 

"i did my best to save you."

 

"There won't be a need, Sans."

 

You were not sure why Sans was so worried about Papyrus and his cooking. The tea he made you yesterday was fine, even if Toriel seemed to be worried about it. Besides, Papyrus was nice and you were sure that he wouldn't go out of his way to try and harm you. In the end you believe Sans was just trying to scare you or get a rise from you for amusement. You decided to have a small change in conversation, something much different then death by spaghetti.

 

"So," you said leaning over towards Sans. "knock-knock?"

 

After telling jokes back and forth with Sans for at a good while, Papyrus came out with a couple of hot plates of what you assumed to be the spaghetti . He was holding two plates and balancing the third on his head. You stared at him making small noises each time the dish on his head almost fell as he made his way towards you.

 

"HUMAN! TODAY WILL BE A DAY THAT YOU WILL NEVER FORGET! FOR TODAY YOU WILL BE ONE OF THE FEW WHO HAVE HAD THE RARE CHANCE TO HAVE SOME OF THE GREAT PAPYRUS'S SPAGHETTI!"

 

Papyrus handed you a plate, the one on his head almost falling and spilling on you as he bent down to hand you yours. You grasped the one that had passed to you as you cringed waiting for noodles and tomato sauce to pour over your head. When nothing happened you cracked open an eye, seeing Papyrus now handing Sans's his plate.

 

"YOU SHOULD FEEL LUCKY TO HAVE SUCH A HONOR, HUMAN! AS AM I THAT YOU WILL BE DINNING ON SUCH CULINARY DELIGHT OF MY OWN!" Papyrus said as he came crashing onto the couch in the space between you and Sans. The plate from his head flew up into the air, somehow landing into his hands without spilling a single drop of sauce. You would have clapped if you weren’t holding your own plate.

 

"Thanks, Papyrus. I'm sure my taste buds will be happy for such a treat."

 

You picked up your fork ready for solid food. Your stomach was growling at the idea of something more substantial than broth and your throat feeling well enough that you believed you could swallow the noodles. You were about to bury your fork into the tomato covered mess when you noticed something. You saw some little blue flecks of _something_ mixed in with the sauce. You placed the fork down, grabbing one of the bigger pieces of it, pulling it out to get a better look at what it was.

 

You could feel a lump in your throat form as you realized the blue fleck was a piece of painted cardboard. You were not sure how Papyrus had managed to get the entire box that contained the spaghetti ripped up and cooked into the entire dish, but he did. Sans's warnings were now starting to make sense. You tried to keep the bile in the back of your mouth down as you placed the fleck to the side of your plate. You looked over to Sans, pleading silently for him to help you, but your pleas were ignored. Instead you were left watching, mouth agape, as the two brothers demolished their plates; cardboard and all.

 

You looked back to your own plate, staring at the many various blue and grey pieces that should normally not belong in your food. You figured that maybe it wasn't really that bad. It was just cardboard, and the food originally came in so it should be at least somewhat hygienic, right? Plus, realistically, the cardboard was really just extra fiber. You swallowed thickly unable to convince yourself it would be completely okay and started to pick out as many pieces as you could from your plate.

 

"HUMAN, IS EVERYTHING ALRIGHT? YOU HAVE NOT TOUCHED YOUR PLATE YET!"

 

"Yes!" You said, jumping a little in your seat and probably a lot more eagerly that you should have. "Everything fine, Papyrus! My, uh, stomach is just a little upset." Papyrus frowned, genuinely looking concerned.

 

"HUMAN, IF YOU ARE HAVING TROUBLES I WOULD BE HAPPY TO MAKE YOU SOMETHING ELSE. I DO NOT MEAN TO BRAG, BUT THIS IS NOT THE ONLY RECIPE THE GREAT PAPYRUS CAN MAKE! I HAVE A LARGE SELECTION OF OTHER DISHES OF WHICH I CAN CREATE FOR YOU, IF YOU SO LIKE."

 

"No, no! It's fine, Papyrus! I just need to take it slow is all." You were digging yourself a very early grave and you knew it. Now not only would you be unable to get out of actually eating the spaghetti, but if you didn't it would break Papyrus's heart.

 

You knew he was watching, so you were unable to pick out any more of the pieces from within the sauce. You steeled yourself, reaffirming that you would be fine. It was hard to get you sick, even if your throat was scratched to hell and gone, but you had a stomach of iron. Surely you would be okay from at least a few bites of the half-edible noodle dish.

 

You twirled some of the noodles in your fork, bringing a small amount of them to your lips. You weren't looking, but you swore you could feel of the skeleton brother's watching you. ‘Great…’ You thought, ‘now I have an audience.’

 

You mouth closed around the noodles, the bitter taste of them flooding your taste buds. There wasn't any spices in the sauce and the noodles were oddly cooked fairly well, but they had this slightly fermented taste to them. Occasionally as you chewed you could feel a piece of cardboard cross your tongue or be bitten down by your teeth, soft but disorientating. However, as much as it was gross to your pallet, you managed to swallow the mouthful you had and start on another. Mentally you apologized to Sans and cursed yourself for not believing him.

 

You only managed to get to your third bite when you couldn’t eat anymore. Your stomach truly becoming upset by the fairly odd and unsettling food. Your stomach could usually handle anything, and it wasn’t the worst thing on the planet that you could have eaten right then. It was just barely passable for edible; you were just not in the overall health to be able to withstand such a dish

 

“Papyrus, I’m really sorry, but I don’t think I’ll be able to finish it… right now.” You added on the end, as to hopefully not hurt Papyrus’s feeling.

 

“DO NOT FRET HUMAN! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, COMPLETELY UNDERSTAND AND IT WOULD MAKE ME A BAD HOST IF I DID NOT! ON SUCH A UPSET STOMACH NO ONE COULD FULLY ENJOY THE CULINARY DELIGHT OF MY SPAGHETTI! HERE, I SHALL TAKE YOUR PLATE AND PLACE IT INTO THE FRIDGE SO THAT WHEN YOU ARE FEELING BETTER YOU CAN EAT IT THEN!” It took everything in you not to cringe at the idea of Papyrus trying to get you to eat the spaghetti later.

 

“Sounds good, Papyrus.”

 

Papyrus didn’t seem to be upset by any of it, as much as you were sure a person as gentle seeming as him would be. You were glad he wasn’t, and in return maybe you would at least try to eat it again. Though, you had a feeling that it might give you a stomach ulcer if you did. The moment he had taken your plate you grabbed the blanket that had been around your legs, laying down and covering yourself in the soft shield.

 

“told you.” Sans said with a laugh. You groaned at him before retorting jokingly.

 

“Screw you, Sans.” You said as you poked your head out from underneath the blanket.

 

“sorry, but you’ll at least have to take me on a date first.” Sans quickly retorted as he shoveled the last of his spaghetti into his mouth. You wondered how Sans even managed to eat such a meal so easily; you quickly decided it was because of having Papyrus as a brother.

 

“Really, Sans?”

 

“hey, I’m a comedian. i see an opening and i take it.”  Sans said as he was focused on his plate, running a finger down it before sucking the sauce from off his index finger.

 

‘I’d take you…’ the thought quietly crossed your mind, almost unnoticed. You froze when you fully realized what you just thought, blaming Sans and his dumb sex joke as the culprit. You curled up on yourself more, your stomach slowly growing in pain. You wanted to continue to play and joke, but the pain wasn’t letting you think clearly.

 

You needed to change the subject of your mind, something that wasn’t Sans and his horrible jokes. You started to wonder how long you had actually been in this house. Maybe cabin? You were not sure. You knew it was in the morning but getting close to the afternoon when Sans originally brought you here. You had slept for quite a while and then everyone left because it was late.

 

You could feel your body suddenly go ridged. The day you left searching for Sans was the first of your weekend, you had then spent the next night in the woods. Your guts twisted and a chill swept through you; you had been gone for at least three days now and today you should have been at work.

 

“Fuck!!” You threw off the blanket rushing to grab your cellphone from your back pants pocket.

 

“what the-hey, uh, buddy? is something wrong? kinda scared me there…”

 

“I completely forgot something…” You could feel your heart pounding from your panic, adrenaline pumping through you. When looking at the whole of what would eventually come of the town, sure the job was not that important. But, if by somehow that crisis was managed to be avoided, you still wanted to have a place to live. Plus, you hadn’t told your roommate where you went, and they were probably going to kill you at this point. You fiddled with your phone, trying to get signal, but all you got was an indication of roaming.

 

“HUMAN! ARE YOU PRANKING MY BROTHER WITHOUT ME?” Papyrus said as he wondered out from the kitchen.

 

“Hold on…” No matter what you tried, there was still no signal. You got up from your seat, despite the protests from your guts and body, heading for the door.

 

“hey, where are you going?” You ignored Sans, you would be right back and you just needed to see if maybe somehow you might be able to catch a stray signal. It wasn’t going to work, but if by some grace the world granted you this one reprieve then you’re livelihood would be saved.

 

You threw open the door, expecting to see the mountainside and be surrounded by trees. However, your first step outside landed into snow, chilly white flakes slowly falling down from above you. You paused, looking up to the sky, but there was none. Instead there was an extremely high cave ceiling covered in chilled stalactites. They glittered almost like Christmas lights, reflecting different colored lights below from somewhere nearby. If one pretended, it would almost look like a very dull grey night sky. But as beautiful as it was, it was not going to help your phone situation.

 

You did your best to keep the taste of puke you could feel trying to come up in your stomach as you lifted your phone. You had to try to see if there may be a way for you to get a signal, even in a deep cavern like this. Even if it was a foolish thing to try.

 

“what the hell is going on?”

 

“SANS! THAT IS NO WAY TO TALK TO THE HUMAN!”

 

You could hear the two bicker at the fringe of the door, you ignored them for now as much as you promised silently that you would apologize later. You wondered further out into the snow, desperately trying to get a signal. You dialed and called multiple people from your work, but it never went through. Eventually, the pain in your stomach became too great for you to hold back any longer and the contents came spilling out.

 

You could hear the worried shouts of the brothers and the noise of their feet in the snow as they came towards you. As the last of the contents left, started to at least feel a little better. You decided that such sudden movement was probably a very bad idea from the start.

 

"ah, geez. papyrus, help me bring them inside." You could hear Sans beside you once you were done hurling into the snow. Maybe the spaghetti was a lot worse than you imagined. Still, it didn't help that for the past few days you had been fairly far from 100% full health.

 

The two brothers helped lead you back inside and out of the cold. You were able to see that they had a house, not a cabin and to the left of their home was what looked to be a small village. You figured you would ask them later, but for now laying down and letting your stomach settle was probably the better choice.

 

"HUMAN, WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!" Papyrus said after the two of them sat you down on the couch.

 

"eh, give them a break, papyrus. they've suffered enough."

 

"SANS! THEY JUST SCARED THE CRAP OUT OF YOU AND THEN RAN OUTSIDE WILDLY FLAILING ABOUT THEIR CELL PHONE! I DO NOT BELIEVE THAT IS NORMAL BEHAVIOR FOR A HUMAN, SANS!"

 

You laid down, pulling the blanket back over you, listening to the two brothers talk as you stared at your phone. You were still in a panic, your body feeling anxious and twitchy; but there wasn't anything you could do. There was no signal, you had no idea really where you were. Your best guess would be that your roommate was probably flipping her shit at the fact you never came home. You started to think of how many police might be involved with it all, but stopped as soon as you did when your anxiety started to get worse at the thought.

 

"SANS, I AM WORRIED FOR THE HUMAN! THIS IS THE SECOND TIME THEY HAVE GOTTEN SICK, SANS. DO YOU THINK THEY ARE BROKEN? DO HUMANS BREAK, SANS?"

 

"I'm not broken, Papyrus. Just a bit under the weather."

 

"BUT, HUMAN, I SEE NO STORM CLOUDS ABOVE YOU, SO I CANNOT BELIEVE YOU ARE ACTUALLY UNDER ANY KIND OF WEATHER! HOWEVER YOU ARE QUITE SICK AND I AM WORRIED FOR YOUR WELL-BEING." You couldn’t help but smile a little at the comment. It was nice that he cared; not many really seemed to most of the time.

 

"I promise, Papyrus, I'm okay. I just realized that I didn't tell anyone where I was or what I was doing. I just...kinda panicked. Plus, I'm supposed to work today.."

 

"all that for work?" Sans raised an eyebrow.

 

"Well, yeah. It's what lets me kinda buy food and have a place to sleep... I'm in good standing but, a no call no show isn't the best thing to keep that." Sans shrugged, about say something but Papyrus cut him off.

 

"SANS, WE MUST HELP THE HUMAN GET BACK!"

 

"uh, bro, they're not really in the best condition to head out just yet."

 

"I AM SURE THAT IF WE HELP THEY WILL BE ABLE TO MAKE IT BACK SAFELY TO THEIR HOME! THAT WAY, THEY SHALL BE ABLE TO CONTINUE THEIR WORK! YOU WOULDN'T UNDERSTAND JUST HOW IMPORTANT AND FULFILLING WORK CAN BE, SANS. MAYBE IF YOU ACTUALLY _DID_ SOME WORK FOR ONCE IN YOUR LIFE, YOU WOULD UNDERSTAND! "

 

You could feel a knot in your stomach. You didn't want to be the cause of the siblings fighting, honestly you just really wanted to find some way of being able to call to the outside world and at least let your roommate know you were alright. You glanced at Sans, worried about what Papyrus had said. However his smile was as wide as ever, his eyes were half lidded and if anything he looked extremely relaxed.

 

"naw, bro, you forget i have three jobs and i do a skele- _ton_ of work. "

 

"SANS! NOT NOW, THIS IS SERIOUS!"

 

"you could say i work myself to the _bone_. "

 

"SANS!"

 

" _ulna_ should know how hard i work, paps. "

 

"THAT IS A LIE, SANS! YOU DON'T EVER WORK!" Papyrus started to stomp the ground, and though he was trying to seem annoyed you could still see a bright smile on the taller skeleton's face. You couldn't help but smile too.

 

Papyrus was right though, you did need to find some way back. You could only guess at what state your poor roommate was in, and you didn't even want to think about what your manager was going to say when you got to work. It was the first and only time you've ever no-called no-showed, so you were hoping you would just get off with a slap on the wrist.

 

You sat back up, rubbing your belly trying to gauge how sick you still felt. Your body was still sore; but healing. Your throat was at least not too painful, but still something you wanted to be careful about. All in all, you might be able to make it, but it also depends on how far away you are from the base of the mountain and the nearest cell tower.

 

"Hey, um, I'm not sure how far we are from the town, but if we're not too far I think I can make it. As long as I don't get lost again."

 

"hate to break it to ya, buddy, but the walk from snowdin to town is probably a bit too far for you to manage right now."

 

"How far are we talking?" You were pretty sure that whatever Sans did the other day, as much as it messed with your motion sickness, it must not have been that far since it was hardly a few steps. Maybe he used some kind of magic to make the trip a little shorter.

 

"about a good full day's walk, and that’s counting getting to the base of the mountain." You groaned and flopped back onto the couch; Sans was right there was no way you would be able to take that kind of a trip.

 

"This might be a long shot but...do either of you have car? Or maybe a working cell phone?"

 

"THOUGH I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, DO NOT HAVE A CAR, I DO HAVE A CELL PHONE AND WOULD BE HAPPY TO EXTEND TO YOU THE HONOR OF LENDING SAID PHONE TO YOU, HUMAN!"

 

You were not quite sure where he pulled it from but before Papyrus even finished his own sentence he was handing you what looked like a small black brick. You took it, the weight of the phone quite heavy in your hand. You were not even sure if it should still work due to the cell’s age. You were still glad to have something working, so you quickly pulled up your work's number and dialed it.

 

The sound piece from the phone gave a shrill sound followed by a voice you had never heard before telling you that you were trying to dial an unreachable number. You hung up and tried again only to be met with the same thing. On the third try, you came to find that the voice on the other line was not a recording, as the person became angry that you were still trying to call the same number. You decided that you would at least give your roommate's number a try. It went to the operator again, but instead of them speaking to you they instead immediately hung up.

 

"here, give mine a shot." Sans handed you a phone that looked pretty much the same. It was probably a different brand but it was just as heavy and bulky as the other one.

 

"I guess... but I really don't want to make the operator any more upset. I didn't even know they had operators working the phones like that."

 

"well, it's your choice." Sans said with a shrug. "but sometimes my phone seems to get better reception than papyrus's, so it might be worth trying at least."

 

You took a deep breath to let out an exasperated sigh. You supposed you could try as to appease Sans. Then maybe after that you would be able to convince at least one of them to take you home, or get you back to your car at least.

 

“Alright.” You punched in your roommate’s number, hoping that if the operator person picked up again they would at least be kinder. You could feel the hairs of your arms prickle as the first ring echoed in your ears. It was by the third ring that your roommate picked up, voice harsh and ready to fight. She probably thought it was a wrong number.

 

“Hello? Who is this?”

 

“R-Raven, it’s me.” You waited for a response, but none came. “Raven?”

 

“WHERE IN THE FUCK HAVE YOU BEEN?!?” You flinched, being caught off guard by the volume that she was able to reach. “ARE YOU OKAY? ARE YOU HURT? ARE YOU ALIVE? Fuck, of course you’re alive but WHERE IN THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN?!”

 

You did your best to explain and calm Raven. You didn’t know how long you were on the phone, but it had been long enough that you needed to ask for some more tea to ease your painful throat. Livid was not even beginning to describe your roommate, but you had done the best you could to get her to forgive you; and not threaten to kick you out. You hadn’t been able to tell her really anything of what was really happening to you. The truth probably would have instead caused her to distrust you with how odd it would have been. Instead you settled for telling her that you had gone camping spur of the moment and got lost; some campers finding you eventually and helping you in your worn-out state. The more you thought about it the more you figured you weren’t really lying, just telling the haziest pieces of truth.

 

You eventually were able to get off the phone with Raven, promising her that you would talk to her more about it once you were safe at home. Calling work was much easier after you drank some tea. They had been informed that you had been missing by your roommate, and were very pleased to hear that you were okay. You told them about the trip, that getting lost had caused you to become sick and probably wouldn’t be in tomorrow either. You just hoped that it would buy you enough time to eventually get home.

 

As you talked on the phone Sans had come to lounging on the couch waiting for you to finish while Papyrus said something about studying puzzles and headed back into his room. You realized it was the second time he had mentioned it and maybe it would be working asking him about sometime. After you had finished taking care of the pressing matters of your adult life.

 

“Thanks, Sans. I really owe you.” You said as you finally handed back his phone.

 

“hey, its no _skin_ off my back. ” You rolled your eyes at Sans wishing you had a comeback just as bad to retort with.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Personal favorite Papyrus Quote of the chapter: "BUT, HUMAN, I SEE NO STORM CLOUDS ABOVE YOU, SO I CANNOT BELIEVE YOU ARE ACTUALLY UNDER ANY KIND OF WEATHER! HOWEVER YOU ARE QUITE SICK AND I AM WORRIED FOR YOUR WELL-BEING."
> 
> Also, me and my roommate have a head canon from this chapter that Sans sometimes will just say "whatever you say, bro." while not paying attention to Papyrus.
> 
> Just:
> 
> "SANS. DO YOU THINK IT WILL BE A GOOD IDEA TO BAKE COOKIES TO RISE FUNDS FOR THE NEW MONSTER SCHOOL?"
> 
> "whatever you say, bro."
> 
> "SANS! THIS IS A SERIOUS MATTER! WE NEED TO FIND SOME WAY TO HELP THE SCHOOL AS MEMBERS OF OUR SOCIETY!"
> 
> "whatever you say, bro."
> 
> "SANS, YOU ARE NOT EVEN LISTENING!"
> 
> "whatever you say, bro."
> 
> And then Papyrus storms off in anger at Sans's laziness.
> 
> I love the two skele-bros, they bring me so much joy and happiness.


	19. The Apology

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It had been a week since Gaster had shown Alphys and Sans the CORE. Despite tensions between Sans and himself, Gaster was fairly pleased with the work that had been accomplished. With placing the determination experiments on hold Gaster had little reason to stay in the lab, instead spending most of his time in the basement of the CORE. Sans would come and go, only staying there as long as he was needed. Alphys seemed to be more willing to stay, helping fix the internal components that Gaster had yet to be able to complete.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone!! Welcome to chapter 19!! I know I've said this a lot but I very much love writing Gaster and always find him to be quite a lot of fun!
> 
> I would also like to announce that I am hopefully going to get my next goal of 100,000k words HIT within the next few days! When I do I will be posting a special 100,000k chapter just for the occasion!
> 
> If I do it on time then everyone can expect that chapter to be released on or around 4/14/2016!! (Since that is the day I'm scheduled to hit goal, *if* I hit it. I'm at 91K at the moment but still, in case the worst happens I still wanna throw an if in there.)
> 
> I really do hope everyone has been liking the story and I hope you will all like this next chapter! Don't forget to leave a kudos or comment!!
> 
> Next Update: 4/15/2016

_It had been a week since Gaster had shown Alphys and Sans the CORE. Despite tensions between Sans and himself, Gaster was fairly pleased with the work that had been accomplished. With placing the determination experiments on hold Gaster had little reason to stay in the lab, instead spending most of his time in the basement of the CORE. Sans would come and go, only staying there as long as he was needed. Alphys seemed to be more willing to stay, helping fix the internal components that Gaster had yet to be able to complete._

_Alphys had been there for most of the day helping with a board that had a couple of bad transistors. Sans had yet to be seen that day, but Gaster had decided a while ago he would let the monster had his space. It still caused Gaster discomfort knowing that he had misjudged Sans. While he admitted his reaction was what he originally expected, he thought that Sans would have had more of an opinion such as Alphys had after their interaction a days prior. However, the stress was minimal since Gaster didn’t place much emphasis on creating relationships and friends._

_"S-she's /so cool/! She's strong and brave and never lets anyone s-stand in her way! She's wanting to be the Captain of the Royal Guard and she b-beat the second in command in a sparring match yesterday! Last week she did this super cool move with her spears during her training lesson with Prince Asriel, you s-should have been there, Gaster!"_

_Gaster wasn't sure of what to make of his relationship with Alphys. With Alphys’s help, she and he had managed to make SID's translations more accurate, but it wasn't being very often used. Instead, after the first day or so, Alphys became a chatterbox. Today she was talking about one of the up and coming Royal Guards, soon to be Captain, Undyne. He genuinely was listening, even if he found that what she was talking about was in no relation to their current work. Partially it was to understand his assistant better, since between her and Sans she was the first to actually stand against the norm. Part to learn more of the guard who had managed to turn green magic on the offensive. Plus, it was interesting to hear around life outside of the Lab._

_Gaster was at the console at the back, going over the code that made up the BIOS of the CORE. The display panel was mounted into the wall as a 70 inch screen. The code was only half finished and would be what would direct the magic flow at the center of the room as well as allow the CORE to run in the first place. It was the literal heart of the CORE, the algorithm for generating the encapsulated time distortion of which him, Sans, and Alphys could monitor and understand. Eventually, after much refining, it would be a weapon they could use to remove the barrier. Gaster frowned as he scrolled through the many lines of code, unable to focus._

_"G-gaster, do you have anymore of that soldering flux by chance?"_

_"I am sorry to say that I do not, Alphys. Would you like me to go to the dump and see if anymore might be available?" Gaster had always been amazed at how much humans seemed to throw away; yet grateful since it made the dumb a treasure-trove. There was never the exactly what was needed, but monsters had become quite crafty in the extraction of materials to build and produce with. The only exception being the metals that the Temmie's could supply._

_"N-no need, Gaster! I'm sorta done here for the day a-anyway. I'll just g-go and take a look myself." Alphys said as she set the panel back into the wall and started to clean up her tools._

_"Are you sure? You do not need to exert yourself more than is needed, Alphys."_

_"It's f-fine, Gaster! I'll s-see you tomorrow, okay?"_

_Gaster nodded and waved goodbye to Alphys as she slipped through the automatic doors at the southern end of the room. Even with the doors closed he could hear the clicking of her nails along the ground as she walked down the hall. He turned back to the console flipping through the code as the clacking gave way to silence._

_The more Gaster went through the code, the more frustrated he became. The math was sound, the lines of code clear of useless clutter, but the machine still refused to boot correctly. It would power on, but that was all it would do. Alphys had even checked and rechecked all of the parts to make sure they had power. Alphys and Sans had both viewed the code trying to make it work or find the bug that was causing the issue; but to no avail. It didn't make sense as to why the boot codes still wouldn't function, but it was the hand they were dealt._

_Gaster gave an exasperated sigh and rubbed the back of his neck, trying to relieve the tension that was causing a headache. Maybe it was a good idea for him to stop as well, to go home and get some needed sleep. He pressed a few keys on the console causing the CORE to power down for the night. The blinking lights around the room twinkled off and the heavy hum of processors and fans lowered until it was a whisper._

_Gaster, hunched and defeated, turned around and started heading for the door with SID following behind. He looked up, noticing something in his peripheral vision that was out of place. The moment he recognized it was someone else in the room, his body jumped from the shock of the unexpected presence._

_"Sans, I do apologize. I did not know you had entered the room." SID translated for Gaster, the words gratefully accurate._

_" its okay, gaster. i know i'm quite the /scare/-leton." Gaster rolled his eyes and groaned at the horrible pun doing his best to fight the smile forming on his lips. Even if Sans hated him, Gaster was still glad he was at least willing to be friendly._

_"Your puns are terrible, Sans."_

_" the only ter-/rib/-ble thing here is that you’re not laughing." Sans said, his voice more chipper than Gaster was expecting. As much as the jokes did bring a smile to Gatser's face it still worried him. Sans was being genuinely friendly and nice; compared to the past several days it was quite the sudden change in character._

_"Sans, as much as I do appreciate the friendliness you are now exhibiting, I can't help being curious as to the sudden change in demeanor." Gaster moved closer as he spoke, SID trailing behind him._

_Sans shrugged with just his shoulders, his hand buried deep in his pockets. " just felt like it i suppose. /ulna/ not gonna hold that against me, are ya?"_

_"I am not sure exactly what I could hold against you, Sans. Your accusations were accurate and truthful, although angry." Gaster stopped, looking down at Sans who was making a point to not meet his gaze. "Your feelings were expected and understandable, given the situation."_

_" well, that was not exactly what I was meaning." Sans said rubbing the back of his head, his eyes closed. "i was trying to go more for the change of heart but, that works too."_

_"What were you meaning then, Sans?"_

_" it's not important. anyway, are you already heading out for the day, gaster?"_

_Gaster still had his own internal twitch of curiosity, wanting to understand what exactly the skeleton was dancing around. He had a hypothesis, but he knew that even with the most supported hypothesis, the result would sometimes surprise. He let the subject be, deciding that he would let Sans do as he pleased. Gaster signed for Sans to walk with him, as he answered his question._

_"Yes. Though the code for the BIOS of the CORE is not yet operational, it seems that my efforts of the day are at unsatisfactory levels of focus. I have decided to do the same as Alphys and see if a nights rest will help in propagating new and better solutions for tomorrow."_

_" if i've learned anything from you, gaster, it's that you work too damned hard. glad to see you're finally taking a break."_

_"Maybe it is something I have learned from you, since you take too many." Gaster responded playfully. He was hoping he would be able to keep the banter light hearted while he could. He suspected that eventually Sans would become bored and leave or he would do whatever it was he came here to do. It seemed like he wouldn't be leaving any time soon, so he might as well enjoy the company while it was being offered._

_" hey, i'm legally required to take that many breaks, thank you very much." Sans said with a grin as he walked beside Gaster._

_"It is as you say, Sans. How is being a sentry for the Royal Guard? I hear daily from Alphys on the subject, but mostly about the warrior, Undyne."_

_" its pretty slow, the capital doesn't have much to be guarded from these days. i would almost say its even to boring for me, but the kids make it worthwhile."_

_"You mean the Prince and their human sibling?"_

_" yeah, especially little Asriel. he's going to make a great king someday. you should see him talk about how he and Chara are going to break us all out of here, or how he will be in the royal guard someday. it’s quite the spectacle." Sans stepped into the elevator, Gaster following behind. With the push of a few buttons they were being lifted back to the higher floors._

_"I thought you did not trust humans, Sans. What of Chara?"_

_" that opinion is in a bit of a...re-evaluation process. it’s more asriel that i have faith in. we probably will never get out of here, but i think asirel will do a good job of helping everyone keep their hopes. kid has some pretty impressive dreams of the future, things to make it so that stuff doesn’t feel as bad down here. the amount of integrity and heart that kid has is astounding."_

_"For a sentry you seem to spend quite a lot of time with the children, Sans." The floor came to a stop, letting Sans and Gaster leave through the door, heading towards the lab. Sans gave a small shrug at Gaster's comment as the doors closed behind them._

_" well, when undyne asks you to baby sit, you don't really have much of a choice."_

_"Fair enough." Gaster came to a stop at the elevator that would bring them both down to the first floor. "Sans, you do not need to travel with me to the Lab if you do not want. I know it is the opposite way of which you would need to travel to be able to go home."_

_" oh, right. well, i was… thinking of hanging out with you?" Sans offered. It was not something Gaster could not ignore, the nagging feeling that Sans had something planned. It was non-malicious as far as Gaster could tell, but it was obvious that Sans was stalling for time. Gaster frowned, he didn't need to say anything for he believed Sans to be smart enough to understand the situation._

_" not buying it, huh?" Gaster shook his head and waited for Sans to either reply or to walk away. Either would be fine, but one of them had to happen. Sans sighed, kicking the air with one of his slippers. "i've… thought a lot about what alphys said. there is a point of where, uh, the same unchanging grey skies just kind of start getting to you."_

_Gaster nodded and nothing more. He could have said that he knew the feeling. That when everyone had first lost the sun, moon, stars, winds, rains, all of it, it devastated so many lives at the sudden loss. He could not count the many that fell down that first year to their own hands or even the effects of it on himself. The first years were very dark times, and sometimes he wondered if after so many years they all had become complacent to their misfortune. But it wasn't his opinion to say, not now and not to Sans. Building sour emotions never lead to any kind of good._

 

_“ i want to see what outside of the mountain is like, more than anything else in the world. the humans took that away from me and everyone else down here. knowing that you were even party like them was…upsetting. but, really I just let my frustrations get the best of me since you fought for us and you’re part monster too. so what i’m tryin’ to say is… i’m sorry.”_

_Gaster smiled, glad to see that the younger monster was not only attempting to apologize, but had successfully. Sans didn’t need to, or honestly Gaster didn’t expect him to since the anger was of a topic that Gaster knew too well. But, it didn’t change that he understood how hard it might have been for Sans to forgive someone who was even partially what he viewed as his enemy._

_“Sans, your apology is most definitely accepted. However, I understand you may still have reservations about me; as it is typical for such a topic. I am not blind to the feelings that my heritage can bring. I will admit it is a topic I stray from, but know that I was not trying to deceive you and that I do apologize for not informing you sooner. In the meantime, would you be kind enough to let me show you my gratitude by treating you to something at the bake sale?”_

_“ hehehe… w. d. gaster, you are a very baffling monster sometimes.”_

_“I do not understand you’re meaning by this, Sans. Would you care to elaborate?”_

_“ even now you’re just willing to accept that i might still hate you for being half human, that others do as well and its just, okay?”_

_“Sometimes there are situations that we cannot change for they are outside of ourselves. The feelings of others is one of these many variables of life and different perspectives. I feel it is a trifle thing to concern oneself about, especially when those feelings are abundant. Now, how about a Spider Donut?”_

_Gaster didn’t give Sans much of a chance to speak by quickly ducking into the elevator. It made him uncomfortable talking about such a subject sometimes; it was too close to his feelings and emotions. Instead he would rather stay as he was. An outside observer of the world taking it all in through the understanding of numbers and reactions. Others were of no influence, and he didn’t truly want to risk the chance of such thing being a possibility._

_Sans shrugged and following Gaster into the elevator as he hit the L3 button. “ as long as you’re buying no way i could turn down free food.”_


	20. Hallucination’s In The Hotlands

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It was the next day that you were able to be healthy enough for travel. The day before Sans had called Toriel who ended up stopping by in the late afternoon. She had some talks with the government above in the camp that she told you and the skeleton brothers a little about as she visited. She made some more soup for you after some gentle urging from both her and Sans towards Papyrus saying it was his turn to rest. You were just grateful that you didn’t have to attempt to eat cardboard-spaghetti again. As much as Papyrus was growing on you it was probably safer for you to stay away from his food; for now at least. Sans told you both him and Undyne were taking lessons from Toriel so maybe one day his food would be truly edible.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone and welcome to chapter 20!! I very much love this chapter and it was my favorite chapter when I wrote it originally (mostly because Papyrus is a wonderful character to write as always.) Also posted this a few minutes early since I am doing what I can to write more chapters.
> 
> I hope this chapter is thoroughly enjoyed and that you all enjoy the little walk through the underground.
> 
> On a side related note, I was sadly not able to finish the 100,000 goal in the time span that I wanted. I will still be posting a very special chapter when I get to that goal, even if I didn't make it on time. (Been a hard week for me, but I've gotten up to chapter 31 written and working on chapter 32 now, so yeah!) So if anyone was looking forward to that extra chapter, fear not!
> 
> Please feel free to leave a comment and Kudos! I always love hearing back from you all for sure!
> 
> Next Update: 4/18/2016

It was the next day that you were able to be healthy enough for travel. The day before Sans had called Toriel who ended up stopping by in the late afternoon. She had some talks with the government above in the camp that she told you and the skeleton brothers a little about as she visited. She made some more soup for you after some gentle urging from both her and Sans towards Papyrus saying it was his turn to rest. You were just grateful that you didn’t have to attempt to eat cardboard-spaghetti again. As much as Papyrus was growing on you it was probably safer for you to stay away from his food; for now at least. Sans told you both him and Undyne were taking lessons from Toriel so maybe one day his food would be truly edible.

 

The soup Toriel made not only helped you recover but seemed to speed up your recovery. It was only after you asked Toriel before she left that you found out that when monsters create food, just like almost everything they do, its imbued it with magic. It was still real food, and she even offered to teach you some of her more favorite recipes, but it wouldn’t have the same kind of healing effect. Still, you were very glad for it; otherwise you would not be able to be doing what you were doing right now.

 

You, Sans, and Papyrus had already been traveling for at least a good hour or so. It was eerie when you finally got outside and you were able to take in the scenery without hurling in the snow for once. You had expected to see more monsters in the town but found yourself to be quickly wrong. As you waited for Sans to lock the door you noticed all the lights in the town to the side of the brother’s home was deserted and dark. There was a Christmas tree you could see in the distance, still lit with the flashing lights reflecting of the windows and grey sky. You also could see that in the cave ceiling there were small holes scattered about. They were large enough to let light and snow through, but small enough and sparse to where they didn’t seem to be a threat to the structure of the cave. It at least made some sense as to why there was snow and so much light.

 

You followed the brothers out of the town, staying close to them both as you waded through the thick fog to a much warmer and humid area. All around you was water, clear and pristine with small waves rippling through it. In the more open areas you could see small trails of water pouring from the ceiling like unbroken glass strings. When the trail was more enclosed you could see the walls that lined your path had quartz stones peeking through, reflecting what little light there was. They reminded you are stars.

 

The farther in you traveled the more mystical the place became. Flowers that repeated conversations, luminescent waters, and glowing mushrooms. You had never seen a place that brought such wonder to you and for a moment you swore you could even _feel_ the magic in the area like small electric shocks; or maybe that was just the wonderment you felt. Something stirred from inside of you, the beauty of the place almost overwhelming you with peace and adoration. It was all absolutely calm.

 

As you walked with the two brothers, your fears from before started to leave you piece by piece. They and the others were the sweetest people you had ever met. No one in your life had been as kind to you as they were the past four days. The only blemish was the thought of Undyne and the knowledge that she at the very least disliked you, but you believed she would be like the others once you and her got to know each other.

 

However, Undyne wasn’t the only one to show you dislike as you counted all the times Sans had pushed you away. You bet that it was just each one of them were hurting in some fashion and doing what they needed to protect themselves; but never once had they tried to actually physically hurt you. You could have ran out of fingers to count on with how many times humans had gone out of their way to inflict pain without even knowing you. But even with your given history, added with what Sans told you and the impressions you had gotten from Napstablook, they were all still kinder than anyone else.

 

You wanted to help protect them all. It was the end of all your uncertainty. It didn’t matter if you were just a drop in the ocean of it all, or if every try ended in failure; you were determined to find some way for them all to stay on the surface. To find a way for the humans to accept them as you did, to one day see the beauty you did in the monsters, and to come up with a plan to stop Flowey.

 

“By the way what is this place? It’s absolutely gorgeous!” You said after Papyrus finished telling you a rather silly story about the sock in the living room Sans still refused to put away.

 

“NYEH HEH HEH! HUMAN, YOU ARE WALKING THROUGH THE STUNNING REGION OF WATERFALL! IT IS JUST LIKE SNOWDIN, EXCEPT THAT ALL THE WATER IS MELTED, THE CEILING IS CLOSER, THE GROUND IS COVERED IN WISHING GEMS, AND THERE ARE NO TREES. BUT OTHERWISE IT IS JUST LIKE HOME AND HAS SOME FANTASTIC WATER PUZZLES! STILL, THEY ARE NOT AS GRAND AS THE ONES I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, HAVE MADE BACK IN SNOWDIN. HOWEVER, HUMAN, IF YOU EVER RETURN TO SNOWDIN, I WOULD BE PLEASED TO SHOW YOU SOME OF MY PUZZLES!”

 

“I had been meaning to ask, what is the deal with these puzzles?”

 

“NYEH HEH HEH! I AM GLAD YOU ASKED THAT, HUMAN! YOU SEE-“

 

You didn’t know the can of worms you had opened until it was too late. You fell into step between Sans and Papyrus as you listened to the taller skeleton talk about puzzles. The most you were able to glean from it was that it was one of the few ways the monsters used to be able to fight against humans; but that was about it. After that Papyrus rambled on and on about the different types of traps, famous monsters, and their groundbreaking trap discoveries.

 

It wasn’t as though the topic wasn’t interesting; in fact Papyrus’s enthusiasm made it fairly entertaining. It was more that you never really had the chance to speak. You were worried that Sans would feel left out, but when you were able to steal a few glances at Sans you saw that though he was quiet he looked happy and content. You would always look quickly away and back to Papyrus as you could feel your heart flutter at the sight of that smile.

 

Papyrus was still going on when the air started to change. It became hotter and the humidity started to cling to your body. Soon, the humidity was altogether gone and was replaced with sweltering heat. You all passed through an opening leading into a room where the heat was blasting from. The next room opened showing far walls and molten lava far below the path. The heat was already starting to make you sweat as the three of you started to cross a bridge feet above the boiling lava ocean.

 

“ALTHOUGH DR. ALPHYS IS UNDENIABLY THE GREATEST PUZZLE MAKER OF OUR TIME, SHE HAS DERIVED MUCH OF HER INSPIRATION FROM THE FAMED, YUG ELZZUP SUOMAF, THEMSELVES! YOU SEE, HUMAN, HIS INFLUENCE IS-“

 

“Papyrus, I really hate to interrupt you, but I think we should turn back.”

 

“AND WHY IS THAT, HUMAN?”

 

“Well, maybe it’s the fact that there is lava. Everywhere. This seriously isn’t a place we should be!”

 

“its just the hotlands. the heat may be uncomfortable but i promise its not dangerous.” Sans said, heading your small group. You had yet to cross the bridge, instead taking to watching the brother cross first, unsure why it hadn’t been burnt to a crisp and hoping that it was really safe enough to cross.

 

“YES, HUMAN, THERE IS NOTHING TO FEAR! BESIDES, IF THERE WAS I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, ONE OF THE ROYAL GUARDS, WOULD KEEP YOU FAR FROM HARMS WAY!”

 

“paps, you’re not in the royal guard yet.”

 

“I CAN DREAM, SANS! IT WILL HAPPEN ONE DAY, I KNOW IT!”

 

“Uh, Papyrus? I don’t think you can fight lava…” You said as you cautiously placed a foot on the first wooden bar. Oddly it was rather sturdy and when you placed a hand on the ropes you found they were actually felt cool to the touch.

 

“NYEH HEH HEH! THAT IS WHERE YOU ARE WRONG, HUMAN! IT DOESN’T MATTER WHAT THE DANGER IS OR HOW STRONG THE FOE MAY BE! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, CAN OVERCOME ALL OBSTACLES THAT GET IN MY WAY!”

 

“hehehe, i guess you could say then that you’re too _hot_ to handle then, eh papyrus? ”

 

“SANS!”

 

“there is no sans, _only zool_! ” Sans said chuckling loudly. Sans was already at the end of the bridge, moving over to the side as he waited for you and Papyrus.

 

"SANS, THAT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH LAVA AND IS A HORRIBLE REFERENCE IN THE FIRST PLACE! BESIDES," Papyrus let out a huff while crossing his arms. "THE SECOND WAS MUCH BETTER."

 

"How do you both know those movies?" You said as you crossed over the last plank of the bridge, glad to finally be on something more stable than wood above molten rock.

 

"WHY, WE WATCHED THEM OF COURSE!" You rolled your eyes at Papyrus's statement, smiling.

 

"sometimes stuff for the surface falls down here." Sans interjected. "we don't get a lot of stuff, but it's enough to get by and occasionally have some entertainment."

 

"Oh."

 

It was obvious that they didn't get a lot of media down here; and even worst they were forced to pick it from the thrown away scraps above ground. It wasn't fair to them and they deserved better. An idea struck you. It might not be much, but at least with it you would be able to do something for them in turn for the help they gave you. Plus, they would be able to enjoy a couple of newer movies.

 

"Not sure if you both would be up for it, but you’re welcome to come over to my place for movies sometime." It took you a moment to remember that the monster's had yet to get consent from the human government to leave the campgrounds. Trying to keep up with timelines was still something you had yet to get used to. "I, uh, mean once they let you come visit the city, of course!" Papyrus jumped in front of you, his eyes somehow twinkling like stars.

 

"HUMAN! THOUGH I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, HAVE MANY DUTIES TO ATTEND TO WITH MY PUZZLES, I BELIEVE I WOULD BE ABLE TO MAKE TIME FOR MOVIES. AS LONG AS YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY SURE IT IS YOUR WISH TO WATCH MOVIES WITH THE GREAT PAPYRUS!"

 

"Oh course, Papyrus. Why wouldn't I? You both have been very kind to me the past couple of days, it’s the least I can do. Besides, its always fun to watch movies with friends!" Papyrus cupped his own face, his cheeks flushed with an orange hue against the white of his bones.

 

"F-FRIENDS? HUMAN, YOU CONSIDER US, FRIENDS?!" You smiled brightly despite the heat starting to make you feel weighed down from standing still for so long. However, Papyrus was a really nice guy just as much as Sans was and it lightened your heart to see him so happy you considered him a friend.

 

“Great Papyrus, I would be honored if you and Sans would consider me to be your friend.” You never imagined a skeleton as someone that would be able to squeal, but Papyrus made it something you would never forget.

 

“HUMAN! WAIT HERE, FOR THERE IS SOMETHING I MUST ATTEND TO POST-HASTE!” With that Papyrus sped off ahead, heading somewhere and quickly was out of sight. You turned to Sans, unsure if Papyrus should really be left alone or what the two of you should do. However, it was starting to get to the point of, as long as you moved to somewhere cooler, you wouldn’t mind what happened.

 

“paps will be fine, he’s not a baby-bones. he doesn’t need his older bro always hovering about him, ya know?” Sans said as he nodded in the direction Papyrus left indicating you both should at least start walking; you were all to grateful to follow.

 

“Wait, you’re the older sibling?”

 

“yep, by ten years.”

 

“Wow, that is a pretty big gap.” Generally, you had figured that maybe Papyrus had been the older one because of his height. You hadn’t fully assumed, but the knowledge still caught you off guard slightly. The age gap was also rather huge, but it seem to make a bit more sense the more you thought about it.

 

“yeah, paps was actually kind of a miracle baby for my parents. after me they found that they couldn’t have anymore children. i had never seen them as happy as when they had pap.” Despite the happy grin that was evident on Sans’s face, there was something tugging at your heart, but you quick shoved it into the darkest spots of your mind. Now was not the time to bring up your own dark demons. You would rather get a drink and forget all of it.

 

“You’re both really lucky to have each other then. Especially with an age gap like that.”

 

“well, really for us monsters that’s extremely small. there are quite a few monsters that are over 400 years old, the current king and queen included.” Sans said as he turned to the left at a four way that you both came to. With a quick glance you could see a dark shutdown lab straight ahead, to the south a staircase leading somewhere, and to the north an elevator where Sans was headed. Your curiosity peeked again when you saw the lab, but you pushed it away; right now you just wanted to get out of the heat.

 

“Woah! That’s one hell of a long time to live! How?!”

 

“magic.” Sans said as he led you to an elevator, pressing the button to open it. You scowled at Sans, he was again being a pain in the ass when it came to explanations.

 

“Okay, that’s kind of a given, Sans. But how? Is it the food you make? Something to do with SOULs?” He however didn’t respond to you, instead pressing the button a few more times and staring at the doors of the elevator. “Sans?”

 

“well,” Sans said with a sigh. “the power for the elevator is down, probably something that got flipped or what not. i can fix it but, do you mind waiting here for a bit?” Inwardly you groaned, the last thing you wanted to do was hang around in the heat any longer. Still, the quicker he left to do whatever he was going do, the quicker it would mean getting somewhere much cooler.

 

“Sure, I’ll just hang out here.” You put on your best smile for Sans who reciprocated with the same.

 

“i’ll be right back.” With a last flash of a smile Sans started heading back, walking towards the Lab and quickly disappearing inside.

 

You were left alone, in the sweltering heat, with nothing to do but sit and sweat. You sighed and moved to lean against the elevator. However, it was a bit nice to have a little time alone. It always gave you a bit of time to be able to sort through your feelings.

 

You were very much enjoying the company of the two Skeletons. Before your current roommate you hadn’t really met anyone that you felt so comfortable around. Papyrus was a precious soul for sure and his enthusiasm was definitely infectious. Sans though, you were not sure how you felt about him.

 

You closed your eyes, trying to figure it out. You had been randomly feeling different feelings, strange tugs and pulls towards wanting to spend more time with Sans. But you both had just met, and he was a skeleton. It didn’t make any sense to you, but it was where your heart was trying to lead you. You decided that it was going to be something that you would stop yourself from having; you all had only a few months before everything went to hell. Now was not the time for romance, especially with someone who probably wasn’t interested in you anyway.

 

When you opened your eyes you went to scream, but you couldn’t. Your voice was caught in your throat. The air was stuffy and felt thick, stopping you from being able to breath well. Before you was a small younger monster that had no arms and its body entirely gray. Its was striped in different gray hues and it had a small tail with spikes running down its back; all in all something that shouldn’t scare you. But, what unnerved you was the pure white eyes, blank and staring at you.

 

“Every story has a beginning, ya know? Someplace to start and a place you can always return to. Do you have a story like that? I don’t, but I’m sure you do. A place where everything started.” The small monster moved closer to you, taking small slow steps. Maybe if you could breathe or move you could take control of the situation. You could ask the kid why they thought it a good idea to scare you like they are. But you couldn’t and it was almost as it something was holding you down. It got closer to you, leaning forward, just a few inches away from your face.

 

“Think back to the beginning, if you know where it is. Those first few pages and black page covers. Go back, right before-”

 

“hey, buddy, what are you doing on the floor?” You wiped your head to where the new sound came from, finding Sans standing a few feet away coming back from the lab. “well, hello to you as well?” Sans said as you continued to stare at him, eyes wide and body shaking. You turned back to where the gray kid monster had been and they were gone.

 

“Sans!” You said as you sprang up from your position on the ground placing your hands heavy on his shoulders. “Please tell me you saw that!”

 

“saw what, exactly?”

 

“There was a monster child right in front of me! There was no way you could have missed them! They were all gray and has just these pure white eyes. Please tell me you saw them!”

 

"uh, honestly, i didn't see anyone. are you okay? is the heat getting to you?" Sans place a hand on your arm, using it as slight leverage to place the back of his hand against your face. The bone was only slightly cooler than your skin, not the freezing cold chill you would have expected bone to normally be. It made sense as he was made of _living_ bone, that the magic that made him probably generated some sort of heat.

 

"Yeah." You glanced behind you where the monster kid had been, checking to make sure the space was now empty. It wasn't the first time you had seen apparitions, it was one of the things that made you a stranger to the rest of society. However, Sans not being able to see it put you more on edge about it than it ever did before. If someone made of magic couldn't see it, then what in the hell was it?

 

"You're probably right, Sans. Let's get the fuck out of here..." Sans nodded in response as you let go of his shoulders. He pressed the button for the elevator and with a ding the doors quickly opened. The two of you went inside, Sans being the one to press the level key that was to be your destination.

 

The ride was quiet between you two. You couldn't get the eerie look of that child out of your mind. It was otherworldly and foreign. Then again, the chances of you just hallucinating the child due to the heat or something else wasn't an option you could ignore. Never before had the things you've seen been that clear and detailed. Maybe it was more just something being triggered the closer you were to magic.

 

You also couldn't figure out what it was talking about. Of course each story had a beginning, somewhere to start, but what did that matter? It also had a middle and an end, and then there was the after story. There were tons of untold stories too, so what? Everything has a start, it is given life and eventually it ends and dies. If you really were just seeing things then why in the hell was your subconscious so suddenly obsessed with the beginnings of stories?

 

The elevator dinged again, bringing you out of your mind and back to the present. You were not sure what you were going do about whatever your mind was trying to say, but for now it didn't matter.

 

"you feeling any better?" Sans said once you both had stepped out of the elevator, he seemed to be nervous in even talking to you at the moment. You wouldn't blame him after suddenly freaking out as you had.

 

"A little. I think." You wiped away some of the sweat that had formed across your forehead. You really didn't know if you were better, but at the very least you were finally out of that super heated place.

 

"papyrus is probably up head, we should go see if we can meet up with him."

 

"Oh. Right." You agreed as you moved to fall into step with Sans.

 

"so, uh, by the way. thanks for being so nice to papyrus." Sans said as he lead you down the pathway. "paps is really cool, but a lot of people don't really see that."

 

You knew what Sans was referring too. Papyrus was a pretty intense person in all honesty. But, he was also extremely caring and helpful, always had this kind of bright view no matter what was going on. You had been sure he was going to be offended that you had gotten sick after eating his food, but instead he had been more concerned with your health. The integrity of Papyrus was unmatched by any other and that’s what made him so special.

 

"Well, those people don't know a good thing when they see it then." You said as you and Sans came up to a large resort looking building. There were lights still inside but the MTT sign above the two double doors was off. You were not sure if the place was actually open and the sign was broken or if it was the only thing they had thought to turn off.

 

"HUMAN!"

 

"Gah!" You flinched at the sudden noise from in front of you. Papyrus was now standing before you and Sans with the doors of a building flung open. To your side you heard Sans stifle a snort of laughter.

 

"I HAVE BROUGHT FOR YOU A SMALL TOKEN OF WHICH YOU CAN USE TO REMEMBER YOUR FRIENDSHIP WITH ME, THE GREAT PAPYRUS! THOUGH IT IS TINY, KNOW THAT OUT OF ALL THE MANY FRIENDS I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, HAVE, I HAVE CHOSEN YOU AS ONE OF THE FEW WORTHY ENOUGH TO RECEIVE SUCH A GIFT!"

 

Papyrus held out in his palm a small beige colored bone. It looked as though it was maybe a femur bone, but too thick and short for it to be an animal you knew. Around the center of it was a bright pink ribbon tied around it. You reached out, gently taking the bone from Papyrus.

 

"Uh, thank you, Papyrus." You eyed the bone in your hand. It didn't seem to be anything else past just being a bone. You were not sure how he made it, but you guessed it was probably with magic. It was porous and yet had an almost greasy shine to it. You wondered if it did anything special that you were not seeing, but you figured you would ask Sans about it later.

 

"COME NOW, HUMAN! WE MUST PRESS FORWARD AND GET YOU HOME!" Papyrus turned back into the building forcing you and Sans to follow behind. The inside of the building was deserted like the rest of the underground seemed to be even if it was completely lit. It was incredibly modern and definitely fit your minds idea of a resort.

 

"hey wait, bro, how did you get up here?" Sans said as he quickly ran to catch up with Papyrus.

 

"SANS, IS THIS ANOTHER ONE OF YOUR JOKES? I WILL NOT FALL FOR ANY OF IT, SANS!"

 

"no, paps, i swear its not a joke." The two stopped, Papyrus placing his hands on his hips, eyeing his brother up and down. You stopped as well, watching the two as the stood in front of a fountain that was of a rectangular shaped robot spewing water onto the floor.

 

"FINE. IT SHOULDN'T EVEN NEED TO BE SAID, BUT I CAME HERE THE SAME WAY YOU AND THE HUMAN DID, SANS. THE ELEVATOR. WHY DO YOU ASK?"

 

"oh, hehe.” You could tell that the laugh Sans gave was forced as he rubbed the back of his head. “well it really, uh, _lifted_ our spirits. i wanted to see if it brought yours _up_ to. hehe "

 

"OH MY GODS, SANS! I KNEW IT WAS A JOKE!" Papyrus stomped his feet on the ground, flustered with his older brother's antics.

 

"sorry, bro. i didn't mean to _push your buttons_. "

 

"I AM LEAVING, SANS!" Papyrus headed towards the back of the empty resort, going to a set of double doors leading back outside. You were able to see a small smile on Papyrus's lips before he turned around nearly running from his brother.

 

"i can see you smiling, papyrus!"

 

"SHUT UP, SANS!"

 

"Hey, wait up!" You said doing your best to follow the two as they continued their friendly brotherly squabble. Sans replying with more jokes and receiving more of Papyrus's ever increasing frustration.

 

It wasn't very long afterwards that Papyrus went into a very long winded rant of how Sans's jokes were not funny as Sans was so sure they were. Though you were not really able to interject much, you still enjoyed the banter between the two brothers. You followed them through some doors inside of a large metal building and into another elevator. You were a bit sad that you were unable to get see the more scenic routes, but it was probably for the best. The sooner you could get to the surface and back home, the sooner you could clean up the mess you knew would be waiting for you that was your so-called life.

 

There were a few more elevators and a couple of long gray hallways that the brothers took you through, as well as a room that was filled with buttercup flowers and a large chair that looked like it belonged to royalty. If you had a chance to guess it was probably the old throne room. It was at the back of this room that you, Sans, and Papyrus finally made it outside.

 

It was sometime around mid afternoon, the city below shining in the sun's heated gaze nestled between the ocean and forest. The evergreen trees covered the sloping side of the mountain for miles, the dense forest cutting off the sounds of the city that you were far above. It was quiet and for a moment you soaked in the scene, wondering how it must have felt for the monsters when they were first able to make it out of the caves they had lived in for so long.

 

"FOLLOW ME HUMAN! I SHALL SHOW YOU THE WAY TO OUR CAMP!" Papyrus said as he started walking down the pathway on the left.

 

"hold on papyrus." Sans grabbed Papyrus's hand, stopping him from leaving. "they don't really need to go to the camp. i know where their car is and i can take them there."

 

Your ears perked up immediately at the mention of your car. How Sans knew where your car was you didn't care, you were just glad that it weren’t going to be lost in the forest forever. Though, if he was lying, you didn't know and the likelihood of him lying seemed to be pretty high. Sans didn't even tell Papyrus the truth about the elevator not working, and it unnerved you at the thought that the elevator was working for Papyrus and the broke afterwards. You supposed he might have been trying to do the same thing he did with you a number of times by now and not tell Papyrus as to spare him from whatever knowledge was being held up in Sans's mind.

 

"HUM. ARE YOU SURE BROTHER? NORMALLY YOU ARE FAR MORE LAZY AND WOULD RATHER PUSH OFF SUCH RESPONSIBILITY ONTO ME." Papyrus gave Sans a light hearted scowl and placed his hands on his hips as he spoke.

 

"what can i say, paps. you've been rubbing off on me." Sans shrugged, smiling up at Papyrus. Whatever it was that Sans was doing worked, for Papyrus's eyes lit up and sparkled with small tears at the corners of them.

 

"OH, SANS! YOU'RE GROWING UP SO FAST!" He said as he wiped away the tears from one of his eyes.

 

"papyrus, i'm older than you..."

 

"YOU'RE FINALLY WILLING TO BE A RESPONSIBLE ADULT, SANS!"

 

"maybe this was a bad idea..."

 

"NONSENSE, SANS! THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A BAD IDEA. NOW, HUMAN! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, SHALL LEAVE YOU IN THE CARE OF MY BROTHER! DON'T WORRY, I CAN ASSURE YOU WILL BE SAFE IN HIS CARE, EVEN IF HE IS THE ONE THAT BREAKS EVERYTHING AROUND THE HOUSE... ANYWAYS, I AM OFF TO GO AND FIND UNDYNE TO SEE IF SHE WOULD LIKE TO TRAIN!" With a quick wave and a small goodbye from you, Papyrus was speeding down the pathway heading towards the camp. Once again, you were alone with Sans.

 

"Do you really know where my car is, Sans?" You blurted out, half happy you wouldn’t have to wonder around aimlessly if he was telling the truth; half worried he was lying to get rid of Papyrus for some reason.

 

"yep. however, here’s the thing.” You eyed Sans curiously, unsure what he was going to tell you as he rubbed the back of his head with a hand. All you hoped was that he wasn’t going to be telling you some kind of bad news with your car. “it’s a bit far from here. and by a bit far, I mean really far.”

 

“How far are we talking about, Sans?”

 

“other side of the mountain’ far?” You groaned at the knowledge. Somehow you had gotten much more lost then you had expected. “well, i know a shortcut there, but you wont like it.”

 

"... Why is that, Sans?" Just how Sans spoke put you on edge.

 

"well, you know that time you ended up collapsing to the ground..."

 

"Oh." The thought of going through that again gave to a vague feeling of vertigo, but at the same time there was no way you both would be able to get back to your car before the sun went down. You were not even sure what magic Sans used to be able to do what he was suggesting in the first place.

 

"yeah. so, i guess we're walking then?"

 

You inwardly groaned. You didn't want to risk the chance of having the same situation happen again with wandering between the trees. However, you were not ready to tempt your fate of retaining your breakfast either and it sounded like Sans was worried about it as well. Given the choices though you would have rather lost the contents of your stomach then spent several more hours walking on sore feet.

 

"N-no wait. Actually, Sans, maybe it's not such a bad idea. What is this 'shortcut' though?"

 

"it's nothing special. just an old magic trick i know." You frowned slightly at the vague explanation. You gave a sigh, trying to work with Sans was going to be harder than you thought.

 

"Alright, so it's like what, teleportation magic? And why didn't you suggest this earlier before we even got outside?"

 

"well, not exactly. it is a bit more complicated than that."

 

"And you can't tell me what it is?" You said as you crossed your arms, for a moment you understood the frustrations Papyrus must have felt with his brother. He was not one to give up secrets easily.

 

"i'll tell you another time; just not today."

 

You let out another sigh. There wasn't much else you could do at this point, even though you wished you could just get him to tell you instead of making it like pulling teeth. Eventually, you decided that it was probably because he didn't trust you quite yet; you just hoped that his trust would be something you could earn.

 

"Alright, I understand. So, let's do this. Better than wasting an entire day, right?"

 

"you sure you're not gonna get sick again?"

 

"I'm not sure, Sans, but we won’t know unless we try, right?" Sans nodded in reply and placed a hand on the back of your arm closest to him.

 

"ready?"

 

"Ready."

 

The world suddenly blinked away and like before you could feel everything about you move. When the earth finally came to a stop you found your motion sickness had come to pay you a visit. You groaned, moving to lean up against a nearby tree, hoping that giving yourself a physical anchor would allow it to pass quicker. You were just glad it wasn't as bad as it had been before; maybe it was just something you needed to get used to.

 

"you okay there, buddy?" You heard Sans say beside you. You absently waved a hand up and down in Sans's general direction as if trying to physically swat away his worries.

 

"I'm fine. Really. Just, give me a moment."

 

It took you a couple of minutes to get yourself back into a state of walking straight, but you eventually did it. Once you were okay, you looked up finding you and Sans right in front of your car. It was covered in pine needles and a few signs of birds having perched above, but was otherwise completely fine.

 

"you sure you're not going to be sick?" Sans asked again once you started walking over to your car.

 

"Yeah, really. I'm already feeling better. I think I just need to get used to... whatever it is that you're doing." Sans leaned forward slightly as you both were walking. He waited for a moment with a wide grin on his face before putting his hands out with his fingers spaced near his head, tilting them back and forth.

 

"magic!" You rolled your eyes at Sans, glad that no matter what it was he still was able to be light hearted.

 

You came up to your car, brushing off some of the pine needles from the hood and windshield. You smiled down at it. You were never one for material things, but your car had been through a lot with you and had gone on many trips and adventures. It made you happy to see it.

 

"Hope I didn't make you wait long, Diego."

 

"diego?" Sans asked as you rounded to the driver's side of the car, pulling out your keys and unlocking the door.

 

"Yeah, I named him."

 

"does he doing anything?" Sans said as he tilted his head trying to get a better look at the car.

 

"Besides normal car stuff like getting me places, not really."

 

"huh, then why name him?" Sans said as he moved closer to lean on the hood of the car. You shrugged, flashing Sans a smile.

 

"Because I can!” You said happily “He's a good little car, been through a lot with me. I'll have to tell you some of the adventures sometime." You said with a laugh.

 

"hehe, that might actually be quite nice.” Sans said with a smile. You moved to the front of the hood, leaning against the care with Sans. You both sat there for a moment, quiet and watching the trees about you. It felt like now was the last time the world would be calm, the last breather you both may get. You lounged in it with Sans until he made a noise before pushing himself off of the car.

 

“anyway, i better get back. today is a pretty big day, i kind of have to be there." Sans pointed with his thumb behind himself.

 

“Hey wait! You can’t just leave yet!"

 

You didn't want him to leave yet for a number of reasons. You knew what was coming but, because of Papyrus, Sans had refused to talk about making any plans. If you let him walk away now you bet that you probably wouldn't see him again until it was too late and everything 'reset'. The last thing you wanted was to have to ever go through all of this again.

 

"huh, what's up?"

 

"Well, what's the plan from here?"

 

"look, i know you want to help, but it would be better if you leave this to me and frisk."

 

"And why is that? We already went over this and you told me what is going on. Sans, this is my home too and if I can I want to help protect it." Sans let out a sigh, pulling out his phone as he leaned back against the hood.

 

"hehe, fine, you got me there. so, how about this. we'll exchange numbers. if i can think of a way you can help, i'll call you."

 

You nodded, smiling brightly that you were not only getting his number, but that getting him to do so was rather painless for once. It was the most you were able to hope for now, and you weren't about to reject getting his number. Besides, save for some things, Sans was definitely getting easier to work with. Who knows, perhaps after a few more weeks he'll even start trusting you too.

 

You passed your phone to Sans after pulling up a new contact page for him to fill out as he handed you his. You quickly punched in your name and number before returning the phone to Sans. It didn't take long for him to hand yours back to you with information you hoped was correct. You took a moment to make sure the new contact looked right before hitting the save button.

 

"Welp. That should just about cover it."

 

“anything else before i head out?”

 

"Yeah, actually." It was something, though you had said it kind of a few times, you hadn’t been truly straight forward with it. You appreciated all the help and patience the two bothers had given you. You crossed one of your arms around your chest, rubbing your shoulder nervously. It was a simple thank you, but it was never easy for you to express yourself.

 

"I wanted to say thank you. For, ya know, helping me out."

 

"hey,” Sans smiled back, placing a hand on your shoulder. “don't sweat it, buddy. i'm sure you would have done the same for us."

 

Sans moved off the hood of the car, and started heading towards the thick trees. Before he fell out of sight he glanced back, giving you one final wave goodbye. You waved back, shouting a quick farewell, before watching Sans disappear into the forest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun Story Fact: I will probably not mention Yug Elzzup Suomaf again, but I think his name is rather silly/fun if you know what I did with it XD


	21. 2 Donuts and a Croissant

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans and Gaster headed downstairs by one level, the air more friendly feeling between the two of them. Though an apology had never been expected of Sans from Gaster, it didn't change the warm feelings Gaster now felt. It was nice to have someone apologize, even if the anger was understandable.
> 
> The elevator dinged and opened to the floor right below where they had been. It was where the Bake Sale ran by Miss Muffet always set up shop. The floor was far more different than the ones above, covered in purple and with the various homes of spiders hanging about everywhere. It was the only place, outside of the Lab, that Gaster ever felt comfortable with.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So so sorry that this chapter is late! Just having some things going on today that caused me to be late in the chapter update.
> 
> This chapter is sadly not fully edited, but is partially. So, hopefully tomorrow I will get to finish the editing and get it all looking fully good! I've been very excited to introduce this chapter and I hope that you all like the random crack ship I've inserted XD
> 
> Please feel free to leave a comment or kudos and I hope that you enjoy the story!!
> 
> Next Update: 4/22/2016

_Sans and Gaster headed downstairs by one level, the air more friendly feeling between the two of them. Though an apology had never been expected of Sans from Gaster, it didn't change the warm feelings Gaster now felt. It was nice to have someone apologize, even if the anger was understandable._

_The elevator dinged and opened to the floor right below where they had been. It was where the Bake Sale ran by Miss Muffet always set up shop. The floor was far more different than the ones above, covered in purple and with the various homes of spiders hanging about everywhere. It was the only place, outside of the Lab, that Gaster ever felt comfortable with._

_" so, why the bake sale, gas?" Gaster smiled, realizing that Sans had once again used the nickname he had previously stopped using before._

_"Yz alcetnfwlc cpldzy, Dlyd. T ufde wtvp ez dfaazce esp nlfdp." Gaster waited for SID to translate, but none came. When he turned around he found SID to be lightly bumping the walls of the elevator, unable to free himself. Gaster signed, letting Sans know he would only be a moment, before heading back._

_"DTO, awpldp lnetglep delyomj xzop."_

_"Lnetgletyr delyomj xzop." SID then gave a loud beep and moved to the middle of the elevator._

_Gaster then headed back to Sans, signing to him that it seems SID would be unable to travel with them here. Gaster stopped, giving Sans one last apology for the inconvenience and lack of translation before the two of them started heading towards the bake sale._

_" is no problem, gas. 'sides, i can still understand you pretty well." Sans gave a smirking grin at Gaster, who was already scowling back._

_"Dlyd, T vyzh esle td l wtp."_

_" why, of course i know some baking jokes! every good comic /kneads/ to know at least one. otherwise, their career might be /toast/. _

_“Jzf’cp afdstyr te, Dlyd.”_

_“ but, i don’t like to know just one, so you could say i’m a bit of a /whisk/-taker”_

_“Jzf’cp pxmlcclddtyr xp, Dlyd.” Gaster held his head in one of his hands, trying not to smile as they came to the small table._

_“Why, hello again Dr. Gaster! How have you been dearie?”_

_Gaster gave a small cough trying to bring himself from the laughter Sans was trying to pull forth from him. He gave Muffet his best smile, signing that he had been actually quite well, and that for him it was always a pleasure to see her. As he did, Gaster did his best to keep at bay the heat he could feel rising to his face._

_“Oh, dearie, that is so good to hear! You spend way too much time in that lab and not enough time buying my pastries.~”_

_Gaster chuckled, signing to her that was indeed a weighty issue, and he would be sure to see if that could be rectified._

_“ so, gaster, you gonna introduce me or what?” Sans said looked between Miss Muffet and Gaster, a sly smile creeping across his face._

_“I see you brought a friend today though, Dr. Gaster.~” Muffet smirked at Sans, licking one of her fangs. “You two handsome monsters should buy some of my spider pastries. All proceeds go to real spiders.~ It is for a very good cause.~”_

_Gaster reached into his lab coat, pulling out a large bag filled with gold coins. He wasn’t able to visit Miss Muffet often, not for a lack of wanting to but rather for the fact that her prices were really steep. He remembered asking her once why that was, though he never got an actually answer from her but he would never forget the way she had stared at him that day. Gaster shook his head, bringing himself back to the present._

_He placed the small satchel on the counter, signing to Miss Muffet that he would be purchasing two of her pastries before turning to Sans and asking him what he would like._

_“ what do you have?”_

_“Oh, just some Spider Donuts and a few Spider Croissants. They’re very tasty and good for you to! Tightly packed with lots of spider-nutrients.~”_

_“ huh.” Sans quirked an eyebrow at Muffet._

_Gaster made a few movements, quickly reassuring that he had eaten both types of pastries on many different occasions and they were both quite good. Adding in that, if Sans was more in a sweet craving mood, the icing on the Spider Donuts were actually quite delicious. Sans gave a single shoulder shrug before replying._

_“ eh, why not. i’ll give the donut a try.”_

_Gaster signed that he would also take one of her donuts as Muffet grabbed the bag of coins and began to count them. Once Muffet finished counting she leaned over her shoulder and whispered to a spider that had dropped down waiting for instructions. Muffet giggled as the spider pulled itself up dropping down two donuts and a croissant._

_“Mfe, Xtdd Xfqqpe, T oto yze zcopc-”_

_“Hush now, dearie!~ This one in just a little something extra for being such a good customer. Just promise to return sooner than later. Okay, Dr. Gaster?~”_

_Gaster was sure he was turning a shade of purple across his cheeks at Muffet’s words. She never would give anyone anything for free. He wanted to get himself to move, to say something or at least nod, but he was unable to bring himself to do so._

_“Hum?~” Muffet hummed quizzically as she leaned forward, propping herself up on two of her arms with the other four arms  finding places on her hips._

_“ i’ll make sure he does, miss muffet.” Sans said after waiting a good minute for Gaster to respond. Sans moved around to Gaster’s other side, grabbed the extra pastry, and started to gently nudge Gaster away from the table back towards the elevator._

_"Zs, Xfqqpe. T hlyyl mp jzfcd." Gaster leaned backwards, not quite paying attention to who or what was moving him, only knowing that Muffet was now out of his sight and he had yet to say goodbye. He soon found himself nearly draped over the monster that was pushing him slowly away from the table, letting him lean far back enough to be able to wave at Muffet in the only goodbye he could muster. She waved back, giving him a fanged grin as he left._

_“ gaster,” Sans whispered from beneath the overhanging form of the taller scientist. “i know her croissants are supposed to be as light as air, but your still pretty fucking heavy.”_

_"Wpe xp mp jzfc pwpnectn xpepc, T htww yze cfy zfe."_

_“ gaster, i have no idea what you are saying, and i know you’re crushing on miss muffet, but you’re crushing me too. if you could walk that would be /great/.”_

_"Wpe xp mp esp pwpnectn splepc, jzf rpe nzwo hteszfe."_

_“ gaster!” Sans shouted as Gaster continued to lean back, Sans no longer able to push him but instead using all of his strength to hold him up. “i  w i l l  drop you! please get up!” Gaster was finally brought to his senses, quickly bolting up to stand straight._

_“Dlyd! T lx piecpxpwj cpxzcdpqfw qzc xj lnetzyd ufde yzh! Oto T slcx jzf? Oto Xtdd Xfqqpe dpp xp? Zs, Dlyd, awpldp epww xp T oto yze ufde xlvp esp mtrrpde qzzw zq xjdpwq. T oto, otoy'e t? Hsle td hczyr htes xp! Hsj nly'e T nzyofne xjdpwq ty l yzcxlw dzntlw qldstzy? Szh slco td te ez szwo l nzygpcdletzy htes dzxpzyp?” Gaster said, pawing over Sans and then waving his hands about frantically. He continued to ramble, glancing over at Miss Muffet every once in awhile, who just continued to smile sweetly at him. Eventually he stopped letting out a long drawn out groan, before moving quickly towards the elevator and ducking inside._

_“ gas, where are you going?” Sans sprinted off to follow Gaster, catching the door of the elevator right before it closed._

_“Ez cpxzgp xjdpwq qczx l dtefletzy hspcp T slgp jpe lrlty nzxxteepo dzntlw dftntop htes esp zyp xzydepc T hld pgpy cpxzepwj czxlyetnlwwj tyepcpdepo ty.” He murmured in response as he hit the button for the lowest floor before sinking to the ground._

_“ look i wanna help, but i can’t really understand you, buddy.”_

_“Te'd aczmlmwj mpde esle jzf oto yze, Dlyd. T oz yze vyzh hsle nlxp zgpc xp, te td yze esp qtcde etxp esp sfxly dtop zq xp sld elvpy nzyeczw; te td yze ez mp esp wlde. Mfe, T lazwzrtkp esle jzf slo ez mp hteypdd lyo dfns lyo...pgpye.”_

_Gaster placed a hand against his head, ashamed that something like that had even happened. For once he was glad he could not be understood, that at least would save him from some embarrassment. This was something that had happened before a few times as a child, the human half of him in a way getting out of control due to his emotions. But it had been decades since he had even remotely had to deal with such a thing in his life; he thought it was under control._

_Gaster lifted his head when he heard a groan from Sans, who had leaned against the wall. He wasn’t sure what he was going to tell Sans, and if Sans had even thought about leaving before then it was for sure to be an absolute result from this scenario. Just when things seemed to be getting better._

_“ so, gas, i’m not really sure what’s going on, but whatever it is i’m sure its not as bad as you might think it is.”_

_“Te td esle mlo, Dlyd...” Gaster said before signing slowly with one hand that it was the worst result that could have happened._

_“ so what, i’ve seen people do weird things for less. there’s honestly nothing to worry about.” Sans rubbed the back of his head, doing what he could to find the right words. “i’m not really helping, am i?”_

_Gaster shook his head and with a few gestures informed him that it was fine, that it was not anything anyone could have changed._

_“ do you mind telling me what did happen?”_

_The elevator dinged and the doors slid open, revealing the dusty walkway back to the lab. Sans stood in the doorway, keeping them from closing as he wanted for some kind of response from Gaster._

_It was a complicated situation for Gaster. He knew that Sans was doing what he could to reserve his own personal judgements; but this was his bloodline, something he could not control. What would Sans say to his powers or his SOUL?_

_“T oz yze vyzh tq yzh td dfns esp etxp ez epww jzf, Dlyd…” Gaster said as he pulled himself off of the floor._

_“ look, gaster, i really want to understand what you’re saying, but i can’t.”_

_Gaster sighed, averting his gaze from Sans. He was sure if he told him now, he would leave. If he did, work on the CORE would be heavily impacted, and finding someone to replace Sans would also take a considerable amount of effort. However, though Sans was the best, but he was not the only one. Gaster knew it was only because of the nature of the projects and experiments that he was even able to get them to work with him; and even then it had been by the decree of the King. The likelihood of there even being a fighting chance for the CORE to succeed was already very slim, but to add in the need for a new assistant with comparable abilities? It would be asinine to think there was a chance._

_“ how ‘bout this, gaster. i’ve got a few secrets to so, if I tell you one of mine, would you tell me one of yours?”_

_With a few small gestures, Gaster said that he bet no secret that Sans had would be able to be comparable to the ones he himself held._

_“ i wouldn’t be so sure of that, buddy. but, we have to go into the lab for me to show you.”_

_Gaster was not sure what Sans was expecting to get out of this. However, Gaster could only guess that Sans was probably not going to let this go easily until he at least got some kind of answer. It would also give Gaster a chance to think of a few lies that he would be able to tell Sans in the happenstance that he needed to. In the end, Gaster reluctantly signed that he would agree to Sans’s terms._

_“ trust me, it won’t be as bad as you think it is, gas.”_

_They both left the elevator, Gaster having to quickly go back having remembered that SID was still inside. Once SID was out of the elevator, they headed to the lab entrance. The front door was more of a secured elevator off to the side of the pathway that lead to the first level of the Hotlands. With a few quick presses on the key pad, the doors opened letting Sans and Gaster quickly disappear inside._

_“ okay, so, follow me. i’ll need a bit more room to show you…” Sans said as soon as they were inside, leading Gaster to the next room. As Gaster followed he turned to SID who was now hovering close to his shoulder._

_“DTO, lnetglep eclydwletzy aczeznzw 5, awpldp.”_

_“Lnetgletyr eclydwletzy aczeznzw 5.”_

_“ okay, so, stand right over there, gaster.” Sans said, pointing to one of the far ends of the room they were now in._

_It was the large room Gaster hardly used and was only put in by the one’s who had build the lab for him. It was a sort of cafeteria or living area for multiple people, but since Gaster had never really retained many coworkers there was never a need for him to use the room. He had removed the furniture that had been in the room before, leaving it rather empty and clear of any clutter._

_Gaster nodded, following the directions of Sans. He leaned against the wall and watched. Whatever the secret was Sans was going about it in a very peculiar way._

_“ okay, so, this secret i told you about? it’s kinda weird. i mean, really weird. so you might want to brace yourself.”_

_Gaster raised an eyebrow at Sans. It was odd for Sans to hype anything up as he was; but whatever it was Gaster had not been expecting any kind of a demonstration. He thought Sans would be telling him something along the lines of he had a crush on the queen or something ridiculous like that. It peeked Gaster’s interest more than something verbal would have, so he watched Sans intently._

_“ alright, here we go.”_

_All Gaster saw was a quick flash of blue and gold somewhere on Sans’s face before the monster /disappeared/. In the span of a blink Sans reappeared only a foot away from Gaster. Gaster cried out in response by the sudden teleportation of Sans, briefly glad that he had been leaning up against the wall._

_“Dlyd... oto.... oto jzf ufde /epwpazce/?”_

_“Sans. Did. Did you just teleport?” SID repeated awkwardly. Sans laughed nervously as he rubbed the back of his head._

_“ yeah, kinda-storta…”_

_“Dlyd... esle... hsj... Dlyd, szh oto jzf oz esle? Awpldp, jzf xfde epww xp. Jzf cplwtkp esp txawtnletzyd zq estd, nzccpne?”Gaster took a step closer to Sans, a smile slowly spreading across his face. This was something he had previously thought to be impossible outside of himself. No one was typically able to use that kind of magic, not monsters at least. If this was truly really and not a prank of some kind that Sans had created, it would mean that Gaster was closer than he had thought before._

_“Sans. That. Why? Sans, how did you do that? Please, you must tell me. You realize the implications of this, correct?”_

_“ i’ve just been able to always do it… it tends to freak out people when i do it so i don’t, but it’s great for getting around when no one’s looking. what implications are you talking about?”_

_There was a lot that started to click into place, a picture Gaster had never considered before. Plus, it gave explanation for how Sans was able to pull some of his previous pranks._

_“Sans, what you are using is not ordinary magic. That is why no one else here can use such powers, because it’s the other type of magic monsters don’t have access to.” Gaster placed his hands heavily on Sans, his face showing a wild grin. “It’s SOUL magic, Sans! You are using SOUL magic!”_

_“ w-what? uh, gaster, i hate to tell you but that’s impossible.” Sans seemed to be sweating and doing what he could to shrink out of Gaster’s grasp. Gaster in the meantime was too enthralled that there was someone besides himself able to use such types of magic and powers._

_“While I can’t tell you how you got those abilities, Sans, I can tell you it is very likely! Any monster born with a human descendants has the chance of being able to harness such abilities; though it depends on the strength of the SOUL from birth. Sans, you could very well be a boss monster with those kinds of displacement abilities! With this it means that the CORE might be more of a reality then I had originally thought! Sans, human magic isn’t just SOUL magic, it’s the counterpart to Monster magic.”_

_“ wait… counterpart?”_

_“Yes, Sans! Follow me, I have something to show you!”_

_Gaster released Sans’s shoulders, running out of the room. He quickly moved a few more rooms over till he came to the room where he had been keep all of his paperwork and current experiments. He could hear the sound of Sans’s feel shuffling behind him as he scooped up a large stack of papers from his desk and started to flip through them. In the distance somewhere down the hall, SID could be heard slowly making its way into the room. Gaster waited till SID caught up for him to explain._

_“Sans, these are just some of the papers documenting some of the experiments of which I have dedicated most of my life to understanding. Human magic and human SOUL’s.” Gaster handed a few select papers he pulled out of the pile. Sans held them with shaky hands, trying to read them as Gaster continued to ramble._

_“As you know, Sans, monsters have magic which can be more categorized as spatial distortion magic. The ability to create matter from almost nothing. But, it has a counterpart, /time magic/. Your ability to teleport is something no other monster can do, it is a slight control of time its self. I am not sure of the intricate details, but my guess would be that yours might be more akin to a blue type SOUL. Sans, it is human SOUL magic that the CORE is trying to create, it’s a type that is my own, the ability to speed up time itself.”_

_“ gaster, this is a /lot/ to take in… its… how do you even know about this?” Gaster frowned, he didn’t want to tell Sans, but it seemed that there was no going back. Besides, maybe now if he explained things would be a bit easier between them. He just hoped Sans would understand._

_“It is because I am half human, Sans.” Gaster made a small gesture over his chest and when he pulled his hand away a very small heart that was Gaster’s SOUL came forth. It seemed white at first glance, but the longer Sans looked at it the more he could see it was actually more of a shade of purple. Gaster watched as Sans moved closer to him, coming close enough that he was within reach of the SOUL._

_“It’s due to my birthright that I became interested in SOULs. I found that my magic had strange qualities I had never seen others show. After countless experiments and studies I came to find that depending on the SOUL color type depends on the magic. I stopped my research after I found how dangerous the abilities of a human-monster combination could be, but it was also then that the war came upon us. Once we were trapped I started again, doubling my efforts. I discovered that though the equivalent of seven SOUL’s was needed to break the barrier, it didn’t necessary /need/ seven different ones. As long as a power was generated that was equal to that of what was fueling the barrier, it would break. It was then that I started work on the CORE.”_

_Sans was quiet, eyes staring at the tiny purple heart floating between him and Gaster. Gaster couldn’t tell what was going on in his mind, his body still and unmoved. He waited, hoping that whatever the response was of his coworker, it wouldn’t be as negative as he was expecting. However, he wanted Sans to trust him, showing his SOUL and telling him everything would be just the first step. If he could garner the help of Sans, the CORE could be practically considered done._

_“ wow… just, holy fuck, gaster. that’s one heck of a bomb to drop on a guy, ya know? as much as I want to believe you…” Gaster frowned, nodding in reply unsure of what more to say. “but, how about this. could i read your SOUL, gas? this all might make more sense to me if i could.”_

_Gaster flinched, he was willing to show his SOUL, but for Sans to request to hold it he was unsure. Showing a SOUL was one thing, but letting someone hold or inspect your SOUL closer was chancing death. But, Gaster reasoned, the progress of science was never made without at least a little risk. Gaster nodded, putting his large hands under his small heart moving it closer to Sans._

_The skeleton moved his hand underneath holding the fragile thing. It was far smaller than most SOUL’s, about three fourths the size. Sans brought it close to his face and started peering at it from as many angles as he could, as if he wasn’t able to quite see it clearly._

_“ huh, so, is it more like a monster SOUL, or a human one? it’s a bit.. difficult to read to be honest.”_

_“Sadly, I would be unable to tell you. Though I know my own SOUL I have very little skills in reading others.”_

_“ no worries… i believe what i’m seeing is right… just, not 100% sure.”_

_“What are you looking for, Sans? If you do not mind me asking.” Sans chuckled, smiling as he handed back Gaster’s SOUL carefully._

_“ well, i’ll be straight with you gaster. i wanted to see what kind of person you are.” Sans said simply, as he took a step back from Gaster, shoving his hands into his pockets. “i always assumed from the stories that humans were nothing but bad people looking for a bad time… but, for someone who’s half human and with such a small SOUL; you’ve more heart in you than I’ve see in most… i’m sorry for not trusting you more, gaster.”_

_“That is fine, Sans. It is not easy for monsters to trust humans, in any form.” Gaster said, though he was unsure how to react or feel about what Sans had said. He had already apologized earlier, but here he was straight forward, what was it that had changed Sans’s demeanor?_

_“ no, its not. i judged you too soon. gaster,” Sans held up the papers Gaster had previously given him with his left as he lightly gestured at them with his right. “these experiments could get us /above ground/.”_

_“That is as I had informed you before.”_

_“ yes, but… i didn’t believe you before, gaster.”_

_Suddenly the sound of clanging metal, breaking glass, and scurrying feet echoed throughout the lab. Gaster and Sans turned towards the sounds to see that one of the fridges were left open. On the floor, pooling like thick blood was liquid determination from two broken vials. Gaster quickly dropped the papers he still had onto his desk before going to the fridge, Sans following closely behind._

_Gaster hadn’t thought that someone would even think of stealing vials of determination. He had figured that maybe he had been seeing things for the past several weeks, or maybe had made some mistakes when it came to the itemizing the vials. It wasn’t something on the forefront of Gaster’s mind, it was just an occasional thing. As Gaster watched the liquid he say in the corner of his eyes Sans reached down, trying to touch the determination as it crawled into the cracks along the floor._

_“Ozy’e, Dlyd! Te td gpcj wtvpwj ez slcx jzf tq jzf ezfns te!”Gaster yelled as he reached out, grabbing Sans’s hand holding him back from touching the liquid._

_“Don’t, Sans! It is very likely to harm you if you touch it!” SID soon translated, Sans’s face falling and his eyes going dark at the news._

_“ gaster… what is this stuff?”_

_“Liquid Determination. It’s in its more raw form, highly dangerous especially to monsters. It’s best if I have SID clean this up for now.”_

_“ is it another SOUL related thing?”_

_“Yes, in fact it might even be the strongest of the SOUL types, but I have yet to gain any conclusive data from my tests.” Sans looked out down the hall where whoever had broken the vials had fled to. Gaster looked down at him following his gaze, watching the same hall and wondering who even knew anything about the vials._

_“ gaster. why would anyone want vials of the stuff if its so dangerous?”_

_“I would have no idea, Sans. But, I intend to find out.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SO, APPARENTLY I am the ONLY one who has ever even thought of a shipping between Muffet and Gaster XD
> 
> I seriously only decided to do this ship because Gaster mentioned her once. Crack ships are great ships imo XD and so I hope that for the few times I get to show this small ship that it is enjoyed.
> 
> I'm still just in awe that no one else had really tagged this before XD #FrickenGreat


	22. Bonus Chapter: The Pun King and the Fartmaster

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bonus Chapter: The Pun King and the Fartmaster
> 
> Sans has a bit of free time on his hands and what better way then pulling a prank on his coworker Gaster?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this is my bonus chapter for hitting 100,000 words so far in my story! Of course those words have yet to been published but they will eventually be and it also means I have tons more story for you all to read!
> 
> This has no plot and is something of what I've been really wanting to do for the 'Bonus Chapters' since I wanted them to be fun little things of enjoyment and non-plot related stuff to celebrate these milestones.
> 
> Also, this is the chapter's theme song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTSA_sWGM44
> 
> I hope you all enjoy it and the next update is still this Friday! Enjoy!
> 
> Next Update: 4/22/2016

_Gaster had just left for the night heading to his room to get some sleep for what Sans believed was probably the first time this week. Naps were great, but Sans never counted them as a full nights rest. Besides, Sans believed Gaster's napping skills could use some work anyway; beakers, test tubes, and microscopes were not good napping places._

_Sans waited, listening intently for the slide of the automatic doors to signify Gaster's full leave of the lab. It didn't take long for the swish to be heard echoing through the room and for Sans to come tumbling out of the nearest closet._

_" welp, time to get to work."_

_Sans headed to the far end of the room where SID was currently resting. It was plugged into the wall, a few lights on the top flashing showing that SID was currently off and recharging. Sans, with a wide and sinister grin, quickly flipped open a panel on the side of SID. There was a small screen and a keypad underneath it. Sans pressed a small button to the side which lit the screen up and pulled up the code that ran SID. Sans cracked his knuckles before pressing a multitude of buttons while cackling softly to himself._

_[-]-[-]-[-]_

_Sans walked into the lab, hands stuck in his lab coat pockets and humming to himself. He decided to wear his lab coat today, despite the thin itchy cloth it was made out of, so that it could give him a chance to wash his normal coat. Gaster didn't move as he seemed to be too intently focused on whatever project he was currently working on to hear when Sans came striding up to him._

_" good morning, gas."_

_"Qfnv!" Gaster spun around towards where the noise came from jumping back a little, tripping over his feet, and falling down. Gaster lifted himself up so he was sitting on the floor, frowning at Sans as he rubbed his backside. Sans was slightly surprised that, even when sitting down, Gaster was still somehow taller than him. "Dlyd, te td ezz plcj qzc jzfc dspylytrlyd."_

_" sorry, gaster. guess i didn't /ass/ess the situation." Gaster rolled his eyes as Sans gave a laugh. He felt back for causing Gaster to fall down, even if it was hilarious, so he help out a hand for Gaster to grab. Besides, it was the perfect layup for the first prank of the day. "here, let me help you up."_

_"Hpww, le wplde jzf nly mp-"_

_Gaster reached out, firmly grabbing Sans's hand in an attempt to pull himself up. Before he had a chance to even lift himself the low rumbling sound of a heavy fart reverberated about the room._

_"Dlyd!"_

_Sans couldn't help it, Gaster's frustration mixed with the perfect placement of a whoopee cushion was enough to send Sans into spiraling giggles._

_" you... should see.. hehehe... your face!" Sans said doubled over holding his gut._

_"Dlyn, espcp td yzestyr qfyyj lmzfe estd! Yzh, awpldp spwa xp fa." Gaster said, trying to use the lip of the counter to semi-lift himself up._

_" here, here. let me help you." Sans said with tears of laughter in his eyes as he reached out to actually help Gaster._

_"DTO, lnetglep eclydwletzy aczeznzw 5." Gaster said loud enough for SID, who was still over by it's charger to hear. SID suddenly whirled to life, slowly lifting off the ground before speaking back to Gaster._

_"Lnetgletyr eclydwletzy aczeznzw 5."_

_" hey, so gaster." Sans said, trying to keep the ball in his court. It was almost a promise Gaster would cause it to be ruined if he let him speak sooner than Sans wanted._

_"Jpd? Hsle td te?"_

_"Yes? What is it?"_

_" i, uh, got a new job. just started last night."_

_"Oh? Did you?" Gaster said as he was finally able to right himself back into a standing position and quickly moving back to his previous work before Sans had interrupted him._

_" yeah, i joined a band."_

_"I do not believe that joining a band would constitute as getting a new job. However, I must congratulate you upon your new endeavors."_

_" hey, you should, uh, guess what instrument i'm playing." Sans had told this joke probably a couple thousand times over; it was one of his more favorite ones. It would have been easy to see where he was going with the pun, but Gaster's focus was not on him and so he was hardly listening to what Sans was saying at all. It was so perfect Sans could hardly keep the devilish smile from his face._

_" it's the trom/bone/." Gaster groaned, Sans's words slowly sinking in. Gaster then started to shake his head slowly, arms falling to his side. Though Gaster was frowning San could see the twitches of a smile at the edges of his lips._

_"It is sad that I did not see that one coming." Sans almost had him trapped, he just needed a little bit more and his plan would come to fruition. Sans could hardly contain his excitement._

_“ /patella/ ya the truth i’m a bit more partial to the xylo/bone/ really.”_

_“Dlyd!” Gaster cried out in partial anger and mostly laughter at the horrible lead up pun. Sans grinned, it was time. Everything from the night before was leading up to this. SID’s voice boomed out the translation in its normal electronic tones._

_“Sans! Master and King of all things punny!”_

_Gaster completely froze, his face agape in horror as SID loudly proclaimed Sans’s new title._

_“Dlyd, hsle oto jzf oz ez DTO?!”_

_“Sans! Master and King of all things punny! What did you do to SID?!”_

_“ hey, all i did was a small name change. maybe you should try it too, gas. i think my new one fits me quite well.”_

_“_ Dlyd. T oz yze yppo l yph ylxp.” Gaster said with his arms cross against his chest, rolling his eyes when SID proclaimed Sans’s ‘new’ name once again.

_“Sans! Master and King of all things punny! I do not need a new name.”_

_“Mpdtopd,” Gaster said, moving back towards the experiment he had been previously working on. Sans did everything he could to not cross his fingers. He could only hoped that his plan would work, and in a few short words he would know or he would have to try harder. “T slaapy ez estyv Rldepc qted xp bftep hpww.”_

_“Besides, I happen to think Fartmaster fits me quite well.”_

_It didn’t even take a full second for Sans to have fallen to the floor laughing. Nothing could have been better, it was the perfect prank and he would be sure to remember this moment always. Gaster started at Sans, watching as he held his gut as he rolled in laughter. His face was almost indescribably, a mixture of being flabbergasted and bemused. Soon, one of Sans’s favorite noises joined him; the laughter of someone else. It was of course Gaster, as there was no one else in the room besides the two of them and he wasn’t sure if SID could laugh. Regardless, Gaster went from a slow chuckle to having to sit on the ground holding his belly._

_“Dlyd, T dhplc, zyp olj jzf htww mp esp oples zq xp.”_

_“Sans! Master and King of all things punny! I swear, one day you will be the death of me.”_

_“ whatever you say, /gas/ter.”_


	23. When The Time Comes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You were kind of lost once Sans was gone. Not because your initial attempts to get out the forest and make it back home, but instead because now you didn't know where to start.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone and welcome to chapter 23! X3
> 
> This one I very much enjoyed writing and I'm glad to throw back in the who dreaming stuff that everyone will find more prominent in Wishful Thinking :3
> 
> I hope that you all like this chapter and are ready for the next ones I have planned since I think the ball is really starting to pick up :3
> 
> Please feel free to leave comments and kudos! I always love hearing form you all! :3
> 
>  
> 
> Next Update: 4/25/2016
> 
>  
> 
> Personal note: The next update I will possibly do something special or I will also post the next chapter of Wishful Thinking. The 25th of April is a very important date for me and so I wanted to do something that would reflect that. Not sure what I will do, but keep an eye out for stuff since I might post an extra chapter for Reformation as well as Wishful Thinking if I can get chapter 2 done.

You were kind of lost once Sans was gone. Not because your initial attempts to get out the forest and make it back home, but instead because now you didn't know where to start.

 

You had the information of what was going to happen. It would be a month, or two. Maybe, if you were all lucky, it would be three months and you would have hopefully plenty of time to figure something out. But, for the next few months, what would you even be able to do?

 

You spent about an hour driving around on different dirt roads until you managed to find your way back to civilization. When you got home your roommate was already asleep in her room and so you decided to let her be, instead flopping onto the couch and watching the ceiling. You kept trying to think of something, anything that would give you some kind of edge or plan. You decided to make a list of the things you knew, hoping that maybe it would get you focused.

 

You knew that Flowey, some soulless plant, was going around the city killing people, mostly kids, to get SOUL's. Once he had six, he would absorb them, destroy the town, and if no one stopped him he would move on to the rest of the world. There wasn't a lot of time, and many different plans had been done before according to Sans. But what were those plans and what exactly made them fail?

 

Despite Sans having told you a lot of information and answered many of your questions, you still felt as if you were left empty handed. You placed your arm across your eyes letting out a long exasperated sigh. Sans was definitely more difficult to work with then you had originally credited him for.

 

It was after several minutes that you decided it was time to pull out your phone and give Sans a call. You didn't need to get information from him right away, since he said he was going to be busy, but at the very least you wanted to set something up. Anything to where you could have the information you needed and some kind of direction to go in.

 

You selected his name in your phone, pressing the call button, and placing the phone to your ear. The phone rang several times, eventually clicking over to voicemail. You scowled as the message played, unhappy that he didn't answer but still silently grateful that you could at least leave something for him to know why you called.

 

"hey, uh, you’ve reached my voicemail. i would tell you a joke but i don’t re- _call_ any, but i could be _cell_ ing myself short. anyway, leave a message and i’ll tell you one later."

 

You let out a small sigh as the voicemail played, glad that he didn't give you a joke phone number. Now all you hoped was that he would actually end up listening to the message after you left it.

 

"Hey, Sans. Look, I have more questions about what's going to happen. Is there any way we can meet up sometime soon? Give me a call back and let me know. Later!"

 

You hung up, staring at your phone's screen wondering if he would call back. You knew he said he would call you if he thought of anything you could help with, but you felt this was an important matter. Besides, you had a feeling that if you left it up to him, you would never hear from him again. You were not sure why he wanted to push you away from it so badly. You too had the memories of what was going to happen and even if no one asked you too it was now apart of your responsibility to do what you could to stop it all. As you placed your phone on the table you resolved to find out more about Sans and try to understand why he seemed so enigmatic in all of this.

 

Now you were left with nothing more you could do. You didn't have to go in today, no plans you could make, and you had the day off from work to recover. Reluctantly, you decided to flip on the TV and see if there was anything on.

 

You leaned up and grabbed the remote from the table, quickly powering on the TV and clicking the selection to pull up the guide and see if there was anything on. Apparently, your roommate had been watching the local news since it was the channel now playing as you searched. You half listened to it, mostly counting it as white noise as you scrolled down the list of now playing shows.

 

"-the second day that little Alexis Middle has been missing. She is a ten year old girl who disappeared from Roadrunner Park while out with her family last Thursday. There is still no information on the abductor, but police urge everyone to please be on the watch for the small child. An Amber Alert is still active and we ask all viewers that if you see Alexis to please call the number on the-"

 

You quickly changed the channel, finding a show that you could tolerate and watch for the next couple of hours; or at least until the good shows came on. You placed the remote back on the table and let your mind forget about the stress.

 

Hours passed, you changed shows a few times, made both lunch and dinner for yourself, and eventually the light that peeked in through the blinds in the living room went dark signifying the end of the day. Still you had heard nothing from Sans. It was sometime around ten that you gave up on waiting and decided to call him again.

 

"hey, uh, you’ve reached my voicemail. i would tell you a joke but -"

 

You quickly hung up the phone in a huff. You turned off the TV and stormed into your room leaving before your roommate had a chance to wake up yet. He might have given you his number, but how in the hell were you supposed to help if he refused to answer you?

 

You lay down on your bed, plugging you phone in, doing what you could to talk yourself down from the anger you could feel flaring up. Honestly, he probably had a reason. Sure, you hated just sitting there doing nothing and not even being able to start on a solution to the problem. However, it wouldn't be a farfetched guess to say there was probably a lot of important stuff happening over with the monsters. You knew that soon the monsters would be allowed special permits to enter the city, or at least someone them would; for all you knew Sans could be apart of those talks.

 

You groaned, deciding that you would ignore Sans for now; you had work tomorrow and needed to sleep. You grabbed your phone and set your alarms before you pulled the covers over yourself. Even though you hated going to bed frustrated, you did what you could to fall asleep.

 

In the background you could hear the muffled noises of your roommate getting ready for work and then shortly leaving. You admitted to yourself that it probably wasn’t the best choice to avoid her right then, but you had enough stress the past few days to deal with and you felt she could wait a day to be upset with you. After you heard the door close behind her you put on some music and letting your mind run in its circles, hoping soon you would drift off.

 

[+]-[+]-[+]

 

**There was a sudden noise behind you just as you were falling asleep. You went rigid, there was no one else that was supposed to be in the house with you. You strained and listened, trying to see if it would happen again. Nothing seemed to cross your ears, and you could feel your body slowly relax.**

**It was when you felt something touch your side that you sprang up, throwing the covers off of you as quickly scrambled across your bed.**

**"Fuck!" You cried out as you crawled away, placing your back against the bed trying to see who was in your room. Your heart was pounding in your ears, your skin and fingers twitching.**

**At the edge of your bed stood the gray monster child, head just barely able to be seen above the mattress. They were frowning, blank eyes watching you.**

**"What the hell do you want?" You yelled at them. You knew that Sans did not see them before, and the chances of them being real in some form had thusly been slim. But, now they had actually _touched_ you this time, there was no way they were not real in some form. You searched your mind trying to figure out what they could be. Maybe they were some kind of appreciation or heavy hallucination, or perhaps some kind of ghost? Or were they just a very strange looking monster with odd powers?**

**"Anyone can be scary, don't you think?" The monster said as it moved closer to the bed. It placed its head onto the mattress, using the strength in its neck to pull itself up. You tried to backup more, wishing there was a way you could melt into the wall.**

**"Not just adults, but children too, given the right chance. Anyone can have hatred and malice, right?" It took a step closer, a grin forming on its face baring the sharp teeth lined in its mouth.**

**"Everyone has a dark shadow lurking in them somewhere, even the smallest child." It was now only an inch from your face, the feeling of its breath caressing your skin. You couldn't move, you were frozen in its blank stare. It's jaw suddenly unhinged, extending and stretching out around you. Your voice was locked in your throat and you were unable to scream. Suddenly everything was dark, you were floating somewhere in a void of nothing.**

**"Do you know your own shadow? Do you understand the casted black trailing behind others? How dark does someone's shadow how to be to be unsalvageable? How deep does the hatred have to run and how much blood has to be spilled before you take action?"**

**You struggled to move, but your body refused, as if something was holding you down. You couldn't breathe and yet you didn't need air. Everything was far off from your touch and yet too close to move past.**

**"When the time comes, you must choose to destroy it. Removal of such blight is the only option. There is no other choice, do not forget that."**

[+]-[+]-[+]

 

You woke up gasping for breath as adrenaline was still pumping through you. You ears were pounding and your hands were gripping the sheets of your bed.

 

"What the fuck..." You relinquished your grip, placing both hands on your face as you went over the dream.

 

Normally you could tell when you were dreaming, but this time had been different. You couldn't even tell when you had fallen asleep, or rather it felt as if you never had; that it wasn't actually a dream. It had to be though, because you woke up and you were in your bed, not in some void.

 

You sat up and gazed about your room. You knew that you wouldn't find anything. It would be silly to think that somehow something in a dream would be in the room with you still. But you couldn't help it, maybe it was just that you had seen the same monster child earlier that day, or perhaps it was the strange feeling of the dream itself. Either way, you figured at least taking a look about your room wouldn't hurt.

 

You got up, taking a quick look around the apartment to ease your slight paranoia making sure to even check the bathrooms and the closet. You wanted to dismiss it, but you knew what you had seen in Hotlands; it wouldn't hurt to be safe about it for now. Once you were sure the house was clean of any possible gray ghost monster children you decided to at least attempt to sleep again.

 

You took a while to calm your nerves, having to pick a few specific songs from your playlist that allowed you to relax. Eventually you were able to slip into sleep, this time your rest dreamless and calm.


	24. Amber Alert

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For the next few days you focused on work and did your best to ignore the fact that Sans had yet to return your call. You hadn't called him back after that night, figuring that it would be more harmful for you to bug him with multiple calls. You couldn't help the anxious feeling that things could be done and action could be taken.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So SO sorry for the late post! I've honestly been slacking off a little, but I think with how much I have gotten down for Reformation I can do it a little bit. :P
> 
> Today is a very special (and sad) day for me though and, as promised, I do have the second chapter of Wishful Thinking ready and it will also be posted tonight. So if your interested please go check it out!! It's a gift not only to you all, but to myself as well. Today, the 25th, is when a very close and important companion of mine passed away 2 years ago now. I didn't think I would make it even one year after his death but here I am and I'm even writing again. If I could I would say more, but I don't think everyone wants to hear sad tales of my personal life. (That's for me to slip in the story when I have nothing else better that I can come up with XD)
> 
> Anyway, I hope that you all enjoy the chapter and I look forward to any comments you all might leave! Once again, thank you for reading thus far.
> 
> Next Update: 4/29/16

For the next few days you focused on work and did your best to ignore the fact that Sans had yet to return your call. You hadn't called him back after that night, figuring that it would be more harmful for you to bug him with multiple calls. You couldn't help the anxious feeling that things could be done and action could be taken.

 

It didn't help that you were still worried that you might have another dream like you did your first night back. It wasn't the worst dream you had ever had, in fact you could remember many more that were a lot scarier than it. However, it was more of the thought of being unable to control your dream that unnerved you. You always could control them, it was from the lucid dreaming you always did, but never before had you experienced something like that. Gladly though the dream had not yet come back, you just hoped that it never would again. In the end, as much as there was on your mind, work was a good distraction keeping your thoughts off of the topics of Sans and dreams.

 

It was in the middle of the day when you felt your phone vibrate in your pocket. You had just finished clearing a table of its dishes giving you a chance to duck into the kitchen and pull it out with no one seeing. Your breath caught for a moment at the name on the screen as the phone shook silently in your hand; Sans was calling you. You quickly pressed the button to answer the call, bringing the phone close to your lips and whispering so that no one would be able to hear you except the other side of the phone.

 

"Sans, I'll call you back. Give me five minutes."

 

You didn't wait for a response, hanging up the phone and shoving it back into your pocket. You rushed over to your manager, doing what you could to keep yourself from nervously sprinting over to them. You came up besides Allie, who was focused at one of the POS stations punching in an order from one of the tables.

 

"Yes?"

 

"Um, I wanted to know if I could go on break a little bit early?" Allie paused from entering the order she was working on, taking a quick glance around the restaurant. She gave you a smile and nod of approval.

 

"Sure, we're not too busy. Just make sure you don't go over your time, okay?"

 

"Thank you, Allie! I won't!"

 

You sped to the back, leaving out the back door of the kitchen. It was an enclosed space where a lot of your coworkers came for their smoke breaks or to take out the garbage. No one else was there giving you plenty of alone time for your phone call.

 

You dug your phone out of your pocket, going through your recent calls, and pressed the button to call back Sans. You waited, listening to the rings over the phone, counting each tone as it buzzed in your ear. It was after the third ring that the phone picked up.

 

"Sans! Hey, sorry about that I-" There was a small click on the other side of the line, you paused wondering for a moment if you just heard something or if Sans might have just hung up on you.

 

"Sans? Are you there?" The sound of the phone going fast busy brought a frown to your face. You took a deep breath and quickly dialed Sans's number again. It rang only twice this time before it was picked up.

 

"Sans?"

 

"h-hey! sorry about that. i kinda dropped my phone." He said nervously.

 

"Oh! No, its fine, Sans! I hope your phone is okay."

 

"it's, uh, fine. anyways, i wanted to call you cause frisk here wanted to meet with you."

 

"Frisk?" It took you a moment for your memory to catch up with you. He was referring to the really quiet child that was Toriel's kid.

 

"yeah, i told them about you and now the kid won't leave me be. they wanted me to ask you if you were free any time soon."

 

"Well, later tonight would work. I also have the next two days off. How about tomorrow or something?"

 

"one sec." There was a sound almost like the phone was being rubbed against some cloth, muffling the voices in the background from you being able to hear what they were saying.

 

You smiled. It was nice Sans was including you. Though it didn't really seem like it was completely Sans's choice, you still delighted in the fact that on some level someone wanted you around. You were still unsure about Frisk, since from what Sans said they seemed to be at the epicenter of it all. Or maybe that was the odd seed of distrust possibly planted by the strange dream. You ran a hand through your hair as you let those feeling go. You would decide for yourself later if you should trust them or not, unbiased by silly fears from dreams.

 

"hey, buddy. tomorrow looks like it would work just fine. is three pm okay?" You beamed and nodded. You knew Sans couldn't see you, but it was still something you did out of habit.

 

"Yeah! That sounds great! Um, where will we meet?"

 

"well, me and the kid can't go too far from the camp so..."

 

"What about the trail we met at that one time?" It was the first thing that popped into your mind. A place that you remembered you and Sans both knew and that would be away from prying eyes. "You can still get there right?"

 

"hehe. yeah, i can get us there. so, we'll see you then?"

 

You exchanged goodbyes with Sans and hung up the phone. Though you were still smiling, happy that he finally did call you, you couldn't help the churning in your gut. It made you nervous, just a little, at meeting Frisk. It was now that you realized you probably should have asked Sans why the kid wanted to meet you at all. If you guessed it might have been because you remembered at least some things like Sans did. However, you knew that there was plenty of room for it to be something else.

 

You shoved your phone back in your pocket and headed back inside, deciding that you would worry more about it later. For now, you had a good portion of your break left and you intended to enjoy it.

 

The day felt as though it ran on longer than it should have once you got back. Minutes seemed to be hours and the slow trickle of people didn't help. At some point the entire restaurant was empty. It wasn’t so bad as it gave you some time to stop and watch the news that was playing. Small bits of the news gave you that same off feeling that you were recognizing fully now as the effects of a 'reset'. You couldn’t recognize all of it, like trying to remember a haze covered dream, but there was enough that you at least knew a few bits and pieces.

 

It was mostly tiny things; an accident on the 101, something about girl scout cookies, and then there was the one that stuck out. They kept talking about a little girl who had gone missing. You remembered hearing something about it earlier that week. It was sad to think someone so young was literally just grabbed from a park and never seen again. You frowned when you realized that out of everything else the topic of the little girl was the most solid of them all; as if she was always fated to disappear.

 

You pulled yourself up and out of the seat as a new customer came in. You smiled, greeting them before leading them to a seat and ducking into the back to grab someone to take their order. As the day continued you couldn't stop thinking about the little girl that was missing. Sans has said that Flowey was collecting SOUL's right? Wouldn't it be possible that the little girl was one of them?

 

It wouldn't leave you be, so when you got a second break during dinner you found a piece of paper and stole a pen from one of the waiters. You started to scribble the facts that you had gleaned from the past few days with it playing on the news. However, there wasn't much info that you were able to scavenge in the end. You even went searching for some kind of newspaper that might be laying around somewhere, to see if there was a way for you to get more info to put down. It had to be something important, there was this nagging feeling in your mind telling you so. It helped that this was the first timeline where you actually had the knowledge to know why it could be even close to important. Even if it turned out to be nothing, it was at least worth bringing it up with Sans and Frisk tomorrow.

 

The rest of the night went relatively smooth. You made sure to keep the pen and paper close, writing new notes if anything new came up on the news. At the end of the night, once everything had been cleaned and you were finally in your car, you made a mental note to get Allie a small gift as thanks. Having the news around was actually proving useful for once.

 

You thought that when you got home you would be able to relax and try to shake the feelings of the day away. The stress of work, the crawling feeling that came with the repeating time line, and the nervousness of what tomorrow might bring. You wanted to make a bath, or a shower, and just let everything wash away for a little while.

 

You roommate had other plans.

 

The moment you walked in the door she was calling your name, quickly bounding out of her room and before you had a chance to put any of your stuff down she pulled you into a crushing hug. It dawned on you that she had been working for the past few days, causing you and her to miss each other ever since you got back and today was her first day off.

 

"OH GOD, I WAS SO WORRIED!!" She cried out, loudly, in your ear causing it to ring. Her arms tightened around you, slowly crushing you under her grip. However, you didn't blame her, you had just up and disappeared without saying anything. You hugged her back as you could feel your chest tighten with guilt.

 

"I'm really, really sorry, Raven. I didn't mean to scare you." Raven suddenly let you go and took a step back. You could still here the pleading worry in her voice but now it was laced with a low bubbling anger.

 

"But you did! You could have left a note or something! I searched for you everywhere!"

 

"Right, but-"

 

"No!" She said, her face quickly turning red. "This is not okay! I mean, I'm glad you're okay, but you can't just up and LEAVE like that! You should have let me know! A text or something that you were going off somewhere!"

 

"I know, I know! Trust me I honestly didn't plan on it... It just kind of happened.."

 

"You just 'happened' to go gallivanting up into the mountain and camp for several days without telling anyone?!" You searched your mind for an answer, realizing that you had completely butchered trying to keep her away from the truth. Raven was a person rooted in reality, if you even attempted to tell her the truth she probably would think it to be a lie instead. However, you also knew that if you didn't go into the mountain then you would have never gotten this far in the first place.

 

"... Yes?" It was the only thing you could offer her, knowing anything else would make it worse. It would not be the first time you would have randomly gone off to do something on your own; you just hoped she would buy it.

 

"Yes? That's all you have to say is 'yes'?"

 

"I... Raven, look it's just-"

 

"No. You just go off all the time, not telling anyone! But _this_... I don't know if I can really handle this." Raven took another step back, wiping small tears that had started to form at her eyes. Your body felt cold from her words. She was right, but everything in you was screaming that she was wrong, that it wasn't something you really had done on purpose. That this time, it was important.

 

"I'm... going out." Raven finally said, as she grabbed her purse from the kitchen counter, the metal chains on the strap clinking as she picked it up.

 

"Raven.. please I'm really,-"

 

"Look, I need some time to think. I thought that I would be okay with this, that I would be able to forgive you; but I can't. So just... give me some time."

 

You nodded slowly. You were out of words to say and right now, as important as you knew what you did to be, it all seemed so small in comparison to how you had hurt your friend. She really cared and you forgot that anyone did sometimes. Possibly the only good thing that could have come out of this was at least you would try to remember that more often.

 

As she came back towards the door, you stepped out of the way, giving her room to be able to leave. She placed a hand on the door, opening it slightly, but didn't move. Without a word or warning, she let go and gave you one more tightly gripped hug before slipping out the door.

 

You were alone, your ears buzzing from the silence in the apartment. You didn't know what to do and, if you were honest with yourself, you no longer wanted to do anything. You dropped your bag by the door and instead sat on the couch. Your back was against the armrest and your legs pulled up close to your chest.

 

You had been so busy, so obsessed with these repetitive memories, monsters, and magic that you had almost forgotten you have a current life to take care off. It was easy to get swept away, it was all exciting, new, and fresh. When you saw the monsters, when you were with them, when you were with Sans, it all always felt right. It felt like home and warm blankets. If you could, you would throw everything to the wind and go off on endless adventures.

 

It didn't change that you had spent many years building up the life you had and the friends you knew. Raven had always been there for you through some of your worst times, and you repaid her by disappearing?

 

You ran a hand through your hair and brushed away some of the tears that had started to fall. You knew that it was only partially right. As horrible as it was to just disappear, as much as you scared everyone, there was a bigger picture. Everyone was running out of time and didn't know it. Even if you didn't fully know what was coming, you still knew more than they did. If anything, the past few days proved you were not hallucinating it and that your worry was a very tangible fear. If only you could remember what _was_ going to happen, maybe this would be easier. Maybe you would have a better idea of what to tell Raven and even make it up to her.

 

Eventually you ran out of tears and found yourself instead going in circular thoughts. You decided that for now, you would just have to wait till Raven was ready to talk. In the meantime you focused on your date at three with Sans and Frisk that would hopefully lead to you knowing the answers you wanted.

 

When you did go to bed rest didn't come easy, your mind worried about Raven and what to do about it all. By the time morning came you had gotten very little sleep and decided to spend most of the day on your computer playing games. You figured as long as you could keep distracted till three, everything would eventually work itself out.

 

It was an hour before three when you headed out. You made sure your phone was charged, you had a bottle of water, and had eaten before heading out; all just in case. Before you left you made sure to take the notes you took the day before as well as leaving a message for your roommate. Everything was in order, you were being responsible, and hopefully things would be okay; or at least that is what you told yourself as you left the apartment. You got in your car and quickly sped off heading towards the edge of the city, rolling down the window letting the wind dance about inside of the car. Today was a really nice day, you just wished you felt better so that you could enjoy it more.

 

Eventually you came to the tail, smiling as you saw that there was no one else parked near the entrance. You parked and locked up your car before trekking up the trail and heading towards your favorite spot. With each step you could feel the twisting in your stomach and you already knew from the drive there your hands were sweating. You would have liked to say that you didn't know why you were so nervous about this. It would have been nice to also say you were not stressed out by it all, but you were not very good at lying to yourself.

 

You were the first to get there and when you looked at your clock you knew why. It was still a bit of a ways before three, but you liked being early rather than late. You moved towards the cliff, sitting down at its edge and looked out at the city. The sun wasn't directly above but it still reflected off the metals and plastics that made the modern jungle gleam and shimmer.

 

You flipped through the papers you had, going over the notes trying figure out if it was even close to a good idea. All you knew was that Flowey needed SOUL's, but people died all the time. For all you knew, the people who Flower needed didn't even need to die, it was really more just an assumption. Besides, the girl hadn't been found dead yet, so maybe it was more of your morbid outlook you occasionally sported on life. You wanted her to live, though you understood how unlikely that was by now and how it was even less likely that it would be any relation to Flowey.

 

"This is stupid..."

 

"what's stupid?" You jumped at the voice that was accompanied with the sound of feet walking through grass.

 

"Sans?!" You said as you spun around, pulling yourself off of the ground and walking towards him. Beside him was Frisk.

 

You hadn't really gotten to see much of Frisk before, even if you did spend a few hours with them at San's home, you had been too out of it to really pay attention. Frisk was a few inches shorter than Sans, probably a kid somewhere past the age of 12 you guessed. They had soft features and middle length hair to frame them in.

 

"So sorry about that! I was kind of lost in thought for a bit there."

 

"no worries, what were you thinking about?"

 

"Just something that peaked my interest, I'll tell you later."

 

Frisk took a step forward and started to sign with their hands. It was then that it dawned on you why you hadn't heard Frisk at all when at Sans's house. Now you just regretted never having learned ASL like you had always wanted to.

 

"Frisk... Sorry, I don't really know what you just said... Um..." You fiddled with the papers in your hands, unsure what to do.

 

"eh, don't worry. i'll translate!" Sans said in a cheerful tone, rocking back and forth on his heels. Frisk scowled a little at Sans, quickly signing a response to him faster than they had before.

 

"eh, don't worry kid. i'm a pretty good translator. just ask toriel, she thinks i'm quite," Frisk made a few motions that you were very sure were definite signs of 'no' and 'don't'. Sans's grin only grew wider, his face straining as he tried to hold in how own laughter. " _tori_ -ific."

 

You couldn't hold back, suddenly blurting into laughter at the pun Sans had made. Frisk placed their head in their hands as they laughed alongside you, slowly shaking their head and trying to hide their grin. You could feel yourself getting lighter with just being able to laugh; you didn't know how much you needed it.

 

"That was _horrible_ , Sans!" You said doubled over in laughter.

 

"what can i say, i'm a _sans_ -sation!" You missed what Frisk signed to Sans, too busy wiping the tears from your eyes. "well, they hadn't heard it yet. besides, that one is pretty good if i do say so myself." Sans said as he puffed out his chest. You did your best to regain control, calming your laughter so that you could at least speak again without issue.

 

"Thanks, I needed that." You said after the last bits of laughter left you allowing you to stand up straight.

 

"no problem, buddy... huh?" Sans turned to look down at Frisk who had started to pull on his sleeve, signing to him. Sans let out a sigh and nodded. "right, so frisk wants to know what those papers you have are?" You flinched at the mention, you were still unsure that it would be anything, that it would be even remotely important.

 

"It's probably nothing, really. It was an idea that crossed my mind yesterday, but the more I’ve thought about it the more unlikely it is…"

 

Frisk didn't sign anything, but instead took a few steps closer to you. They smiled holding out their hand giving you a small nod. You could easily guess that they wanted to see it anyway, but the idea still made you nervous.

 

"Okay then, but it's probably nothing..." You handed the small bunch of papers to Frisk who immediately started going over them. Sans moved to lean over Frisk's shoulder, taking a look at the papers as well.

 

"It was just something I noticed the other day. It's probably nothing since I'm not really used to the whole time-line-memory thing..."

 

Frisk looked up at you, holding up a fist and twisting it in what you assumed was to mean no.

 

"the kid is right. you're not wrong. sadly, she is usually the first victim. It’s, uh, is a bit worrying though..." You could feel a muscle near your ears twitch.

 

"What do you mean?"

 

"well, usually, they don't go missing for at least another week..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dedicated to the precious ones in our lives with too much love to give and not enough time to spend it all. ~ 4/25/2014


	25. C is for Cast, D is for Dolophine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You did your best to struggle, but it was of no use as you felt something stick into your arm. Whatever it was left a stinging sensation deep in your muscle once removed. The two continued to hold you down, though not as forcefully as they had been before. Slowly your vision started to blacken and your movements became slower. It didn't take long for you to slip into unconsciousness, your mind suspending itself in black void, with the last image you saw was the three people slowly baking away from your body.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ***WARNING***  
> Drug Use
> 
> Posting a little early to make up for how late the last one was. So here is the next Chara chapter! I know that before I said I would have 4 Chara Chapters total, but sadly the next two ended up being really /really/ long and so I've had to extend it by 1 extra chapter. There won't be a need for me to add any extra tags so as long as you're fine with the tags already mentioned then we're all good!
> 
> I really hope that you all enjoy this chapter and don't forget to leave a comment if you would like! ! I always love hearing from you all!
> 
> Next Chapter Update: 5/2/2016

_You were not sure where you were when you woke up or exactly how you had fallen asleep in the first place. You were laying on the softest thing you had slept on in your entire life. Your arm still radiated a dull pain. You could easily withstand it, but it wasn’t enough to completely forget the throb. You were in a huge room with beds lining each wall. Each bed had a person in it, the figures in each bed small in size and reminded you more of yourself in height._

_You were not sure, because everything was smudged and blurry. You figured it was from the sleep you had gotten since you could tell from the sludge covering your mind it was way more than a few hours. You rubbed your eyes, removing all the crusted pieces of sleep from them as you did, but it did not remove haze from your vision. You continued to rub and press against your eyes with your own working hand. It shouldn't be like this, your vision had never been like this._

_You heart started to beat faster, your movements sped up in desperation. Something had to make it better, something had to return your vision. You started to cry out in frustration and in pain from your movement agitating your arm. You could hear a flurry of shuffling feet and a blurry figure dashing into your line of sight. You stopped fussing with your eyes, instead aiming to protect yourself from the new assailant._

_"Don't touch me!" You tried to yell at the person as they came close to you, instead finding your throat flair in pain and your voice to be only a whisper._

_"It's okay, I'm not here to hurt you. Are you hurt? What's happening you can tell me." The person spoke in a soothing voice, but you didn't buy it._

_You knew that’s something she would do, trying to lure you in close so she could have an easier time of hurting you. Whoever they were, why wouldn't they do that as well? You started to shuffle yourself out of the bed, finding that there were various tugs and small pains about your body as you did._

_"Hun, you're going to hurt yourself! Please stop!"_

_They suddenly closed their distance and were nearly on top of you. Even with them as close as they were they were still blurred and any big features you were unable to identify. You thrashed as much as you could, trying to break free of them. Whatever pain they were planning to inflict upon you, you weren't going to let them. As you fraught, they turned around, yelling over their shoulder._

_"Someone help me!"_

_The person you were fighting with pinned you just before two more people came running to your bed. You wished you were stronger then you were, your lack of strength the one flaw of being a child._

_The room was a sudden chorus of voices as you pushed, pulled, and punched as much as you could to get free. They kept asking you to calm down, to stop fighting, but you were done with letting them win. You knew what you could do to them and if you just had more power they would be cowering from you rather than attacking you._

_“Bring them to the back!” One of the called out as your bed started to move. You could hear the squealing of the wheels and the thu-thud as they went over cracks in the floor. You didn’t know where they were pushing you off too, but you ignored it. You just needed to get away from them, it was all you focused on._

_“I need a dose of dolophine!” One of them abruptly called out as they pushed the bed threw a door which was closed quickly behind you._

_You started to scream, you were not going to let them take you down and you were not going to let to do whatever they were planning. But you were weak, almost blind, and half way incapacitated due to your arm in a hardened cast. One of them left your side, the other two continuing to hold your down as best they could. It didn’t take long for the third adult to return._

_“Hold their shoulder down.” The two adults complied, applying a heavy amount of force on your right shoulder._

_You did your best to struggle, but it was of no use as you felt something stick into your arm. Whatever it was left a stinging sensation deep in your muscle once removed. The two continued to hold you down, though not as forcefully as they had been before. Slowly your vision started to blacken and your movements became slower. It didn't take long for you to slip into unconsciousness, your mind suspending itself in black void, with the last image you saw was the three people slowly baking away from your body._

_Time passed, you were not sure how long you were out. You just drifted and for the first time felt at peace. Nothing was wrong, you didn't hurt, you didn't have that insatiable burning need you could always feel in your chest; you were just there and that was okay._

_Slowly, at some point, you started to wake up. Still your vision was hazy and though you couldn't see who they were, there were three people surrounding still your bed. You didn’t know if it was the same people, but it didn’t matter right then; nothing really seemed to give you much worry in that moment. You tried to move, but found yourself held down with straps and your body too sluggish to try to remove them._

_"Don't try to move, you'll just make your injuries worse. We won’t harm you, we promise." Said a stern male voice from one of the people around you._

_You were not sure why, but you gave up and complied. You felt, odd. You couldn't quite place it. The room felt as if it was moving, though your vision showed that as far as you could tell it was all stationary. Your arm didn't hurt at all. Even though you could hardly see, you didn't feel the need to panic. You opened and closed your fingers, finding that even your touch was different. It was if all your sense were numb._

_"Now, how are you feeling?" You refused to answer them or maybe it was just your mind lost in the unnatural haze that caused your lack of response. You didn't know and had no drive to find out. One of the figures leaned over to their left, whispering something to the person beside them just quiet enough that you couldn’t hear what was spoken. The other person whispered a short answer back, but it was still one you couldn’t quite make out._

_“Really?” The one that originally spoke to you, replied. They then lowered themselves, moving closer to you so that you could get a little bit of a better look at them. “Miss Gene tells me that they weren’t able to find your name, little one. Can you tell me what your name is? I would be honored to know it.”_

_“N-name?” You slurred out._

_It was not a term you were actually familiar with and in addition to the stunted feeling of the world around you, you were unsure how to react. Was it ‘it’ or maybe it was the frequently used term your mother would spat at you of ‘little fucker’. It didn’t seem right, since she would say that about a lot of things. You instead turned to them, whoever they were, because if they asked the question they must have known the answer as well._

_“I don’t… do… do you know… my name?” You spoke slowly, trying articulate your words in your daze. You wished that whatever was causing you to feel like this would go away. Then maybe you would make the people go away too. That sounded like an absolutely fantastic idea._

_The person moved away and started to talk with the others around them again. You tried to listen, but found it impossible to discern what they were talking about clearly as your focus wavered. You could still pick out pieces of their conversation. Something about your mom, there was a few mentions of something called ‘child services’, and lastly they mentioned something about your birth._

_Eventually they all left without saying a word, leaving you behind and still belted down to the bed. You were not sure why, all you wanted to do was leave. They didn’t stay, so how important could it have been to keep you there in the first place? It was upsetting. However, with how you were feeling, you didn't mind it enough to really do anything about it. Instead you decided to try to sleep._

_After a few hours of lying in bed it seemed that sleep was something you wouldn’t be able to get. The room was noisy and filled with the chatter of many children and occasional adults. It didn’t help that you were belted down and unable to move into a comfortable position. It was for several hours that you lay in bed silently and refraining from any movement. You figured either sleep would eventually find you, you just had to wait long enough._

_It was hours later when someone sauntered up to your bed. Whatever was inhibiting you must have been wearing off since you could feel your anger start to flare._

_"Hey there, buddy, how are you feeling?" The voice sounded as if it belonged to a young woman, though you couldn't quite see her face. You scowled at her and refused to answer, your arm was starting to hurt again and you wanted nothing more than to just walk out of there. She was just another obstacle._

_"My name's Jeanette, I'll be your nurse for the next couple of days. I see you got your arm broken, huh?" She said sticky sweet and though she might have been trying to comfort you, it only felt as though she was talking down to you instead. If you could you would probably drive a knife into her. But, you were held down and weaponless, so for now all you could do was glare._

_"I'm guessing it hurts a lot, doesn't it?" If you were honest, it really was starting to hurt. It was probably the worst pain you had felt, but it wasn't something that you couldn't work past. Not if you were going to fulfill your goals._

_"Well, Nurse Jeanette has some medicine for you that will help make it all better and make that mean pain go away! But, you got to trust me okay?"_

_She waited for your response, but you were unsure. You didn't want to trust her. She was going to be just like them, whatever it was that she was going to give you would probably poison you and make you worse. It would be just like your mom, everyone was just like your mom. But, there was a slim chance that she was telling some sliver of truth; and the pain in your arm was starting to overcome your thoughts. You decided that for now, you would refuse. You would be fine with or without any kind of 'medication'._

_"I'm fine. Just leave me alone." You said slowly and quietly, trying to baby your throat as if flared with pain from speaking the few words._

_"Well, okay then. But if you change your mind just call for me okay? I won’t be far, I promise." Silence was still her answer, you held back a grin from forming when you heard her voice waiver as she spoke again. "O-okay then, get some rest and I'll be close by if you need me..."_

_With that she left, heels clicking against the floor as she walked down the hall and stopping at her next patient. You tried to move and roll over into a more comfortable position, but instead all you managed to do was cause your arm to send sharp shooting pains. You eventually gave up, doing your best to block out the noise around you, hoping that you might be able to sleep through the pain._

_You were finally able to fall asleep, but not for long. You started to wake from the pain of your arm, a deep hurt of radiating stinging pain. You swallowed thickly, figuring that maybe if you tried it again you could move your arm a little and it wouldn't hurt. Instead you were wrong and again it flared up worse than ever before. It didn't take long for the pain to overpower your will. Whatever they had given you was definitely wearing off. You started to take deep breaths, hoping that if you could calm yourself and not focus on the pain you would be okay._

_In the end you couldn't win against it. Groans of pain escaped from your lips that soon grew until they became near screams. As tears fell down your face, you heard the clicking of heels as someone came into view._

_"Oh, sweet heart, does it hurt?" It was Jeanette and her awful sticky voice. If you could you would punch her._

_"What do you think?" You hissed through your teeth._

_"Well, I have a special magic potion that makes all that pain go away. But, you got to trust me so I can give it to you, okay?" You hated her, she was holding it over your head, trying to force you to bow to her. However, the pain was excruciating and beyond what you could handle, so you gave in._

_"O...K..." You gritted your teeth as you gave your answer. Hot tears still pouring from your face, partially from the pain, mostly from your hatred._

_"Okay!" Jeanette said as cheerfully as she could. “Now, I’m going to move your bed okay? We’re going to visit the doctor to get your ‘special medicine’.”_

_You grunted in response as Jeanette started to move your bed and the cry of the metal filled your ears again. You choked out a sob with every crack the bed hit, pain shooting through you. You cursed her mentally with how careless she was being with you since you were unable to do so through your sobs._

_Soon the bed came to a stop, Jeanette leaving the room for a brief moment only to come back with someone in tow. When they spoke you recognized them as the same person who tried to speak with you earlier._

_“I hear Mrs. Jeanette says you're due for a little dose of medicine, is that right?” He said as he messed with something off to the side. He lifted it and you found it to be in the same of shape as the object that had pierced your skin before; he even flicked it the same way before moving to your side. “Now, this is only going to sting a little, but I promise that you’ll feel better in a while. Sound good, buddy?”_

_He waited for a response you were never going to give him. They had already belittled you and forced you to succumb to how /they/ wanted to do things. They even belted you down. It was completely out of the question that you would willingly give them any other kind of satisfaction._

_“Here we go.” He said, the same pinching sensation penetrating your arm, only this time you could feel some kind of liquid being forced into your body. “There. Wasn’t so bad now was it?” You ignored him and Jeanette as she made some kind of similar comment before wheeling you out of the room._

_“Now.” She started. “It’s time for little boys and girls to go to bed. If you want I can adjust your arm, but I’m going to need your trust and cooperation again. Can you do that for me?”_

_You could feel your anger flare, but it was dampened, probably from the ‘medicine’ finally taking effect. You hated her voice, her mannerisms, and if you could see better you would probably hate her face too. You wanted nothing more than what you needed from her; you were no longer going to bow to her._

_“Just leave.”_

_“Humph!” She said as she placed her hands on her hips. “Well, I suppose it doesn’t matter. Anyway, I need to leave for the night. I won’t be back till morning so you’re just going to have to wait until I get back if you need anything. There will be a night nurse to come and give your medicine again, and I want you to be nice to her, you hear?” She didn’t wait this time for you to say anything, seeming to finally get your silent message that you didn’t want to talk with anyone._

_You listened to her go around the room, shushing the other kids and tucking them into bed. Telling some of them stories and giving them stuffed animals of some kind for them to sleep with. You watched in slight awe, unsure of what exactly she was doing and how any of it helped anyone get to sleep. You knew that as long as you were tired enough you could sleep anywhere and through anything; you figured it should be the same for anyone else._

_Eventually the lights for the room were flipped off and the children could be heard whispering amongst themselves. No one talked to you, which you were glad for. It seemed that they understood to leave you alone better than the adults did, they could learn a thing or two from the children._

_You could also feel your ‘medication’ start to affect you more. Your body felt as if it was floating somewhere distant and far from the pain; far from everything. You liked it, you didn’t hurt or really even care. No, that was not true. You did care about finding a way out of there, through any means that were necessary. Lazily, you searched your mind for some kind of idea, something that could be the key to getting you out of these belts and off to the freedom of the world._

_There wasn’t a way that you would be able to get out through strength; you had tried that and now you were strapped to a mattress. They were bigger and there were more of them then you could ever think to handle. Plus they kept playing these mind games with you. Forcing you to do what they wanted without ever lifting a finger._

_You blinked a few times in the darkness as an idea formed. You could easily do the same thing they were doing. You could manipulate them and then /they/ would have to do everything /you/ said. Once again, you could be in control. A loopy grin spread across your face, as you reveled in your own cunning ability_

_You spent the rest of the night thinking up ways you would be able to defeat your captors. How you could turn the tables on them. What it would take to bend them to your will. At some point, around the time your arms started to hurt again, you heard someone enter the room. You smirked, deciding that this would be a perfect time for you to put into practice your idea. You could feel your guts twist nervously as you readied yourself for your task._

_You moaned, pretending to be in pain. The footsteps in the room stopped and let the room be silent. You scowled, deciding that you just needed to moan louder. You cried out with enough volume that you could hear some of the other kids stir in their sleep. You did your best to stifle your grin when you heard hurried footsteps rush over to your bedside._

_“Sugar plum, every thin’ alright?”_

_“My /arm/ hurts!” You whined, trying to imitate Jeanette’s voice figuring it would be more believable if you did._

_“Well, bust my cherry and get me ah shotgun. Darlin’, you’ve gatta broken arm; course its gonna hurt. But, don’t ya fret. Doc told me what ya need. Just hold on tight, puddin’, I’ma gonna get you that pain killer.”_

_You nodded and hummed through gritted teeth. For a moment you thought you might hate her more than Jeanette. Maybe it was the way she talked or maybe it was that you were cooperating. Either way, it didn’t matter who it was or what they did; you seemed to hate each and every single person on a deep personal level._

_She nodded at you, before ducking into the room you had been brought in twice before. You were happy that it was working, since honestly your arm didn’t really hurt much yet. You were delighted you were able to get her to get you what you wanted and easily. All it took was a few fake sobs; you were amazed you hadn’t been doing this before._

_It was as she was coming out of the room that you decided to see if you would be able to get even more out of this. It didn’t matter what it was, as long as you knew you were the one controlling what she did._

_“Here ya go, dumplin’. Now, ya’v prolyl heard this already, but it may sting just a smidggin.” You felt the same pinch and push of liquid as she injected you. “There, all better! Now, its time fur little pumpkin’s ta head off to dream land.”_

_“But…” You whined in the same tone you had before. “I’m /hungry/.”_

_“Well, its way past yur bedtime an’ so there’s no way I can give ya anything right now sugar cube.”_

_“Please?” You raised your pitch even higher and did your best to sound as if you were about to cry._

_“Well…” She trailed off for a moment, placing a hand under her chin. “Hum, I guess that it’d be alright ta give ya at least a small snack.” Internally you scowled; now she was being difficult. You had to change your strategy, you didn’t have much time to think and so you did the first thing that came to mind._

_“But, I’m /really/ hungry! /Please/?” You said loud enough that it was a possibility you could wake the other kids. When she started to shush you, you had to keep yourself from grinning realizing that what you did had worked better then you thought._

_“Shush now honey, we don’ want ta wake up tha other children now, do we?”_

_“/But/!”_

_“Shush! Shush! Alright, alright. I’ma gonna get ya a smol little dinner, okay sweetie? Ya just gatta promise me ya’ll be quiet so ya don’t wake up the other’s now. That’a deal?” You could no longer hold the grin back from your face as you gave her a nod. She gave you a pat on the head, ruffling your hair a bit before leaving the room._

_You felt like laughing; this was just too perfect. It still would never replace the feeling of cutting someone into pieces, but it was a very nice second place and a skill you planned to hone. How easy it was for you to get her to do what you wanted. If you kept this up you figured they would even let you walk out of this place and not think twice about it._

_Maybe, if you got good enough, you could do the same to your mom. Get her to stop doing so many of the painful things she did. Maybe even convince her to let you sleep inside of the house. Then, when she was sleeping, you could return to your one joy and rightfully gut her._

_It was a plan you knew you could sleep happily to._


	26. Your Move

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “You already know?!” You almost felt like stomping the ground like Papyrus did. It was absurd that he already knew and here you were worrying that you had just been bumbling around like a fool.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone!! Sorry this is a little bit late, I ended up getting a bit side tracked and edited this a little later than I wanted to. But here it is and I still hope that you all over much enjoy this chapter! (The up coming ones are gonna be a lot of fun I can promise you that!)
> 
> Also, I'm going on a trip to Phoenix to see my bro since I haven't seen him in almost a year now so the next update will be this Wednesday instead of Friday since I will not be near a computer till Saturday night.
> 
> I still hope that you enjoy the chapter and stay safe everyone!!
> 
> Next Update: 5/4/2016

“You already know?!” You almost felt like stomping the ground like Papyrus did. It was absurd that he already knew and here you were worrying that you had just been bumbling around like a fool.

 

“Then what are we waiting for?!” You said exasperated, you could feel both a bubbling of excitement and a twist of worry swirl in you. “You both already _know_ about her right? How it’s all going to go down? So let go there and _stop_ Flowey! If we can stop him here then we won’t have to worry about the future, we can just _have_ a future! It’ll be problem solved!”

 

“its not that easy, buddy.” You felt your heart sink in your chest at Sans’s response.

 

“I knew it!” You groaned, rubbing the back of your neck. “There is always a catch. Alright, so, why not?”

 

“well, we can never find out where he is. we just know the general place the body will show up at. frisk can’t go on their own and monster’s aren’t allowed in the city just yet.” You became silent as you realized the obvious solution to his issue, but though you waited for him to come to the same conclusion he never said a word.

 

“Sans.”

 

“yeah?”

 

“You know, _I’m_ allowed in the city _and_ I could take Frisk with me.”

 

“no way, pal.” Sans said as he shook his head. “look, I know you mean well, but there is any way that’s going to happen.”

 

“Sans, this is serious. We’re talking about a Flower gaining immense amounts of power enough to _wipe everyone off the face of the earth_.”

 

“yeah, and the answer’s… awe kid, not you too.” You looked down at Frisk who was signing at Sans. Sans rolled his eyes before letting out a sigh. “kid seems to agree with you, but we don’t know what to expect. if anything happened to frisk, toriel would have a bone to pick with me. pun always intended.”

 

“Sans, there has to be _something_ we can do. We can’t just sit at the sidelines and hope that something changes!”

 

“look.” Sans said refusing to look directly at you. “i know this isn’t the best situation, but we have to work with what we got. our actions change everything every time we do something. you wanna know what happens when the humans find a monster outside of camp when we’re not allowed yet? it ends up causing more issues with radical groups and draws out the diplomatic workings. if a human was even slightly harmed by a monster there are many people willing to kill them for it. if you did this think of what the worst case scenario could be if you go chasing after this girl?”

 

You knew he was right, just with how you knew humans to be. They were not the most trusting of creatures. When they felt cornered and afraid they would do dumb things sometimes, but it didn’t change the frustration you felt. There was no way Sans was really asking you to stand by when you could be saving a little girl’s life. That because of there being a chance that the worse outcome could happen that sitting back and doing nothing was better.

 

“Then I’ll go alone.” You spat out. “Frisk and you don’t have to come as long as you tell me what to expect, right? I’m not important or well known, so if something happens then it won’t change anything.”

 

“it’s not worth it. just give up on this one. later on there will be others and we can save them instead.”

 

“So, your just willing to let Flowey get away with this?”

 

You felt horrible, but you couldn’t stop your anger now. Sans was silent, refusing to respond to you as Frisk looked back and forth between you too. You felt bad for bringing Frisk into the middle of it, really all you had wanted was some more questions answered and instead here you were starting a fight. Maybe it was your own fear getting to you as you were not really sure why you were pushing for this so hard.

 

Frisk turned to Sans, signing something to him. Sans blinked at them, then shrugged his shoulders in response.

 

“kid, you should know better than i how much damage could be done.” Frisk frowned, signing again. Sans sighed. “yeah, but i don’t think it’s worth risking someone’s life. especially when neither of us can be there to help. if we don’t know they got hurt we can’t go back.”

 

“What is Frisk saying, Sans?” You said unable to hold back your curiosity.

 

“well, you remember what I told you about resets right?” You nodded, waiting for Sans to continue. “so, there’s apparently not just resets, but this thing the kid calls ‘saves’ too. didn’t believe them at first but they eventually convinced me. also declared themselves the ‘fart master’ too in the process.” Sans laughed, causing Frisk to puff out their cheeks in fake anger. "anyway, they're suggesting we use the saves to make sure you're okay."

 

“Okay… so what is a ‘save’? This is starting to sound way too much like a game of some kind.”

 

“beats me.” Sans said with a shrug. “but, from what they told me is that their able to create ‘save points’ within a timeline. allows them to jump back to a specific point, rather than just having to reset the whole thing.”

 

“So then, why don’t we do that if you’re so worried, Sans!”

 

“because we can’t be there. we wont know if something happens to you so that we can go back and change it. the kid’s been pretty, uh, insistent on making sure everyone stays alive in this. trust me, it will just be easier if we wait."

 

Sans wasn't wrong. It would be easier, things could work out. However, it had already taken you till now to be as caught up as you were. If you didn't do anything, if the reset happened again, you would have to do this all over again. You didn't want to have to go through all that trouble if you could save time now.

 

"How about this. I'll go alone, _but_ I promise that at the first sign of _anything_ I'll get out of there. If I'm safe and don't, ya know, make a scene, then everything should be fine right?"

 

Frisk looked up at Sans, signing to him with a small nod.

 

"i donno kiddo..."

 

Frisk furrowed their brow, signing again. Sans watched as Frisk continued, eventually letting out a sigh when they finished.

 

"hehe, can't argue with that i suppose."

 

"With what?"

 

"kiddo's on your side," Sans said as he scratched the side of his head. "but you would only have the one chance. you think you can do it?"

 

"Hell yeah." You said with more confidence than you actually had on this. You did your best to keep yourself steady and in the mindset that you wouldn't run into any kind of trouble. "I was born able to see the barrier, I was born ready to do this." You said firmly as you ignored the shaking you could feel in your legs.

 

"hehe, are all humans this determined?"

 

Frisk giggled and signed what you guessed was probably something along the lines of 'no, only us', to which you completely agreed.

 

"So, I need some things answered. Not just for saving that little girl, but to help more later. Why is Flowey stealing the same kids SOULs? Are they only kids or are there some adults too?" Sans let out another sigh as you waited for his response. He was quiet, Frisk signing things at him that you couldn't even attempt at guessing at. But he wasn't looking at Frisk or you. For a moment, he just looked tired.

 

"well, uh, to be honest i don't know. he does always attack the same kids, but we've never been able to get close enough to flowey to really find out why. we do know who 4 of the 6 are and they are all children. however, from what alphys has said, it seems likely that the remaining two targets might be adults."

 

"Why though?"

 

"huh?" Sans said as he tilted his head in confusion. "why the adult targets?"

 

"No. I mean, why is it the same people? The city is probably _bursting_ with SOULs from his point of view. Yet he takes two months or less to enact his plan, and uses the same exact SOULs? It doesn't really make sense..."

 

"well, alphys has this theory that flowey is collecting specific types of SOULs. but, uh, what for we're still not sure."

 

You made a mental note that, at some point, you were going to have Sans introduce you to Alphys. He kept mentioning her, saying that she would remember at least a little bit as well. Logic would say that she was just as important as the three of you and that she was also involved somehow. However, that would have to be something to tackle later. Right now you had a plan to create to save a little girl.

 

"Okay, so, what about this girl? Where am I gonna be able to find her?" You were not sure, but you thought that you saw Sans flinch. You dismissed it as he talked, he sounded fine, so whatever his reaction was it probably had been nothing.

 

"she'll be at the lake, near downtown."

 

It took a bit more prodding, Sans still being reluctant to give you all the details and at least mentioning twice that he thought this was a bad idea. He did eventually tell you what you needed to know, but just like with everything else with him it took forever to get there.

 

The little girl was going to be found at the lake shore, near the decorative bridge that crossed over. It was the entrance to the downtown area, which is why it was always done up in lights and colorful banners while the exit, about a mile over, was just a simple bridge. Since Flowey had attacked early, Frisk and Sans were not sure as to when the girl would actually show up there.

 

You figured though that it wouldn't hurt to look today, or tomorrow. Besides, they were your only days off.

 

"you still sure about this?

 

"Yeah. Positive." You said as you have Sans a nod.

 

"can't say i didn't try." Sans said dejectedly. "well, better get you home, frisk." Frisk nodded, scampering over to Sans's side. "be careful and, uh… frisk?" Frisk suddenly signed something to Sans before running over near the trees Sans and Frisk had come from earlier. They bent over near the base of one with about of foot of space between them and the tree. Frisk looked as if they were touching something, but all that was in front of them besides the tree was air.

 

"What is Frisk doing?" You whispered over to Sans.

 

"saving."

 

"... like in a video game?"

 

"uh, i guess? its just what they call it. not really sure what it is they are actually doing, but if it works who am i to knock it?"

 

Maybe it had been all the knock knock jokes and puns you had been hearing recently from being in the vicinity of Sans. Maybe it was just your own demented mind. It could have even been that you were finally feeling comfortable with Sans as well. Whatever it was, all you knew was that you thought it was funny, and funny always trumped any other reactions.

 

"Well, I think what they're doing is a- _door_ -able."

 

Sans cocked his head staring at you for a moment. Then suddenly his face changed as he realized the verbal pun you were playing. The whites of his eyes left and a low rumble of a laugh could be heard from him. It built in volume, transforming from the low burble to a bellowing howl. You couldn't help joining him, chuckling more at his surprise at the pun rather than the pun itself.

 

Frisk perked up at the laughter, turning around to watch you and Sans. You did your best to hold on your own giggles as Frisk came over, moving their glances between the two of you.

 

"I-I told Sans a door pun." You tried to say between your suppressed laughter "I- hehehe- I think he found it quite, _ajarr-_ ing." You sputtered into laughter at the end, unable to hold yourself back any longer.

 

Sans was soon to follow, both of you letting your laughter fill the area. He placed a hand on your shoulder, trying to keep himself standing as his other hand was wrapped around his waist. You weren't much better, having both hands wrapped around your stomach as your laughter started to hurt your sides. Through the tears forming at the corners of your eyes you could see Frisk roll theirs at the two of you. You wanted to say another joke, but your mind was drawing a blank from the hysteria.

 

Eventually you and Sans managed to calm down enough to be able to talk normally. Sans turned to you, wiping away small tears that had, somehow, formed at the corners of his eye sockets.

 

"i am impressed." Sans said. He glanced down towards Frisk as they sighed with a sour look on their face. "hey, it's not every day _i'm_ caught off guard. 'sides, my pal here aren’t half bad. "

 

Sans looked up at you. You were not sure what it was, but there was something different about him. It wasn't in the way he was standing since his hands were stuffed into his pockets like normal. It might have been his smile, which seemed maybe kinder or warmer than usual. You couldn't be sure, but you knew there was something, a small voice telling you in the back of your mind that there was something brighter about Sans. In the middle of your thoughts he gave you a wink, the corners of his tooth filled smile pulling up even more.

 

You were not sure why, but you had to do everything you could to keep your face from turning a bright red.


	27. Shades of Green

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You parked your car in one of the small parking lots running along the outside of the lake, but only after spending several minutes trying to find it. You exited your car, locking it behind you as you looked around. Though the place was surrounded by the sound of cars and city movement, the lake area was deserted. You could feel the chill of night sweeping through the area as the last glimmers of sunlight casted sharp shadows where it could still reach.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So so sorry this is late! I ended up not having as much time as I thought, but I'm still getting the chapter posted and I really hope you all love this was because it was a lot of fun for me to get this one down. I had been thinking about this scene for a while and was glad to finally get it down when I did and now I'm even more glad to be able to share it with you all!
> 
> Next update will be Monday as normal!! I hope in the meantime you all enjoy the chapter!
> 
> Next Update: 5/9/2016

You said your goodbye's to Frisk and Sans, doing your best to keep out of your mind the smile Sans gave you. It was only after they had disappeared back into the forest that you left, heading to your car.

 

You put the keys in, not turning the car on, but instead taking a moment to think. You were not sure why you were feeling so embarrassed. Maybe shy? You were not sure the right word, but it was only something Sans seemed to be triggering.

 

You had your problems, plenty of them. There were many different obstacles that had happened in your life; things past what would be considered 'normal'. All of them you had figured one way or another to overcome; whatever feelings you were having because of Sans were no different. All you needed to do way take some time and categorize everything, think of all the possibilities, and deduce the correct answer. It was something you had done many times before.

 

However, you were short on time for the day. You had spent a few hours at the cliff, the afternoon haze was now gone and the sunset was setting behind the trees to the west. There was an unknown time-limit and you already decided you were going to do anything to try and beat it; meaning every second spent mattered. You took a few deep breaths, turned on your car, and started heading back towards the city.

 

You made your way to the town lake. It wasn't really a lake, but it was still deep enough to fish and boat in even if it was more of a large pond. You had always had this love-hate relationship with the lake. One half of you loved it, because it was water. Any kind of body of water was a wonderful thing to you. The part you hated was that it was hard to access and one of the most polluted places in town.

 

You parked your car in one of the small parking lots running along the outside of the lake, but only after spending several minutes trying to find it. You exited your car, locking it behind you as you looked around. Though the place was surrounded by the sound of cars and city movement, the lake area was deserted. You could feel the chill of night sweeping through the area as the last glimmers of sunlight casted sharp shadows where it could still reach.

 

You glanced around as you rubbed the back of your left arm. You could feel a heavy pounding in your chest, though you could tell it was not your pulse. With it came the same shaking in your knees as you tried to convince yourself there was nothing to be afraid of. In the distance you could see the base of the bridge, an area surrounded by a chain-link fence and barbed wire at the top. There was a gate off to the side, and though you couldn't see it from where you were you guessed there was probably a padlock on it. It was all to keep people out from the few trees and a single large electrical box that was inside.

 

You were not deterred and headed off towards the bridge which was about a couple yards west from you. It wasn't far, and you were actually happy to have a small walk; it would help calm your nerves and give you time to think of a way around the gate.

 

The more you looked around, the more you realized just how open the area was. It didn't make sense that the little girl would be found here; there was too much foot traffic and the spaces were too open. A stray thought crossed your mind as you wondered if Sans and Frisk had somehow duped you into going on a wild goose chase. You ignored it and pressed on, watching the area around you for any changes or abnormal flowers.

 

You also analyzed the fence, looking to see if it had any kind of weak spots or potential openings. From what you could tell your best option so far was to get up on the bridge itself and jump down into the fenced area. However, being trapped beside a bridge did not sound like a fun week, so you looked for another way inside.

 

There was no way you were getting up and over the fence because of the barbed wire, plus you weren't the best at climbing. The gate that you could see however did look a little loose, but you couldn't fully be sure until you actually reached it. At least the multicolored graffiti on the wall inside of the gated area gave you hope that there was at least some way of getting in and out.

 

It was when you were ten feet from the gate that you saw some kind of movement. It was from behind of one of the trees, one closest to the shadow of the bridge. The twilight causing the shadows to be just dark enough to keep you from seeing exactly what it was. You stopped completely, waiting to see if you could find any other movement.

 

Whatever it was didn't seem to move again, but you were sure you were not seeing things either. You moved quickly towards the gate, hoping that by some luck you would be able to get in easily. Surprisingly it was going to be easier than you thought. The gate did have a padlock, but it was currently kicked off to the side next to one of the metal poles that held the fence. It was supposed to be one of those large circular ones, heavy duty padlocks and you would guess near impossible to break. It was in pieces and looked like it had somehow been torn open from the inside from where the locking mechanism was. The metal arm at the top was bent in at least several places and caused a deep chill to pass through you.

 

You swallowed and peered into the fence area as the idea of 'Flowey' changed rapidly in your mind. What else could he be capable of if he was able to rip apart a large heavy metal lock? No way that Flowey was just simply a _flower_. You decided you would have to just be extremely careful, whatever Flowey really was, even as a flower he was dangerous; you would have to ask Sans later if it was because he was Asriel too, or if it was something else.

 

You carefully lifted the latch of the gate, opening it just enough for you to slip through and create as little noises as possible. You left it open, in case you needed a quick escape route; besides, if a heavy-duty padlock couldn't hold Flowey in, it didn't matter if you closed the gate or not.

 

You scanned the area, watching for any kind of movement as you headed towards the tree closest to the bridge. At the angle you were at you couldn't see under the dark shadow of the bridge yet. You moved to be more along the wall to minimize the area you would need to watch, listening for any noises that could reach your ears. The adrenaline pumping through you helped with keeping yourself calm and collected; even if all of your nerves were on edge.

 

You were getting closer to where the bridge lifted from the ground at its base, arching over creating a dark cover for anyone who decided to enter. The area close to it beneath the bridge looked to be all dust and rocks, the grass cutting off near the shadow. It was just before you were able to peek around the corner that you heard small muffled whimpers.

 

‘She’s _alive_!’ You screamed in your mind. Without thinking, you left your spot heading under the bridge looking for when the muffled cries were coming from.

 

You quickly found that you didn’t have to look far.

 

A sudden cold ran through you, your body froze and you found yourself in shock as what you found. Being held over a foot off the ground was the little girl whose picture had been all over the news the past few days. Two deep green vines were wrapped around her throat, her legs kicking helplessly beneath her. About a foot from her chest was a glowing dark green SOUL that also had a vine tied around it.

 

Below, with the vines leading to his base, was Flowey; or what you could only assume was him. He turned towards you, six yellow petals encompassed his face which was a white center. His eyes were like black pits and his mouth was jagged and vicious looking on against his stark white.

 

Your eyes went back to the vine that held the little girl and her SOUL. It was visibly straining as it was trying to rip the very SOUL from her body. You noticed the SOUL was much smaller than yours, almost half the size. Though it was the second time you had ever seen a SOUL and the first time seeing one other than your own, you couldn't help the sick feel that came with what Flowey was trying to do. You didn’t know why, but it reminded you of that same vague feelings you would get sometimes while watching violent animes or horror movies at particularly gory scenes. Your stomach churned when you tried to piece the scene to something more familiar, the only thing that came to mind and felt close enough was the notion of watching someone slowly break someone else's limbs.

 

“Golly, Alexis.” As Flowey spoke his face changed to one that was much kinder and sweet looking; for some reason you were suddenly reminded of Toriel. “It looks like we have some unwanted company. Don’t worry though, I promise we’ll at least finish _playing_! I mean, what kind of friend would I be if didn’t at least finish our little game?”

 

Before you had time to react, two more vine broke forth from the earth, quickly wrapping themselves around the SOUL of the girl. The girl tried to scream, but it was stifled by the grip Flowey had on her throat.

 

You had to do _something_. Anything at this point would be of help to the little girl, but what were you supposed to do? It was now that you regretted not going home and getting at least some kind of weapon that you could have used to cut the vines with. You gritted your teeth, deciding that acting was better than doing nothing. You sprinted towards Flowey, figureding if you could get close enough you would be able to at least try and pull the vines of the girl.

 

You never made it though. After about your third step something wrapped around your left foot causing you to crash to the ground. You put your arms out, trying to catch yourself as you fell.  Your face and arms slammed into the ground, your chin and forearms taking most of the blow. You could feel that some small rocks had become embedded in your skin, while both your chin and arms carried the familiar sting throb that came with cuts.

 

You struggled to get up, wincing at the pain coming from your new wounds. You looked down at your foot, finding a vine firmly wrapped around it. You moved to a sitting position, trying to pull it off. You even tried to kick it with your other foot, but nothing you did succeeded.

 

You heard a small squeak from behind you from the little girl. You turned back to her to find that her SOUL was now almost two feet from her body. There were small sparks of electricity that you could see occasionally going from her to her SOUL and then back.  You could see tears streaming down her face as she grabbed and clawed at the vines around her neck fruitlessly.

 

“Let go! Let GO!” You yelled as you pulled as hard as you could at the vine trapping you. But, even as you started to claw at the vines yourself, nothing worked and you were unable to free yourself let alone attempt to free the small girl. Tears of frustration fell down your face as you realized Sans and Frisk were right and that you would probably die here.

 

There wasn’t anything left you could do. You were just a human, not even special enough to have any of that damned SOUL power that Sans told you very few people could have. It was ridiculous for you to have even attempted this, but if you were being nice to yourself you could at least say you didn’t think a flower would be this dangerous.

 

Acceptance soon washed over you; you were sure this was how your time was going to end. There was not going to be any reset or some kind of backwards time skip or it would have already happened. You were alone, trying to save a small girl from a soulless monster who wanted to destroy the world. Strangely, the more you thought about it the more calm you became. You had decided long ago that death was okay, that it was something that would eventually catch up to you. Today was that day. A strange feeling started working through you, like fire in your veins, starting in the place you knew your own SOUL resided.

 

The thing you couldn’t accept was the death of the little girl Flowey still held.

 

You were determined to save her, you had to. You stood up, hopping on one leg until you could align yourself to get the proper leverage. You started to pull with all of the body strength you could muster. You were set of breaking free and stopping Flowey no matter what it took.

 

You could hear the sparks of lightning crackle through the air, the sparks becoming more frequent the farther Flowey pulled at the SOUL. You looked up, finding that it was a near steady stream now connecting the SOUL to its host. Flowey was literally ripping the SOUL from the girl and you did  everything to keep the contents of your stomach where they were.

 

You started to feel the vine break and snap, the grip on your foot lessening. You just had to pull a little more and you could be free. Then you just had to get the vines Flowey had tangled about the girl and everything would be fine.

 

Suddenly, echoing off the concrete of the bridge, you heard a high-pitched snapping sound.

 

The vine on your leg released causing you to again fall face first to the ground, the rocks and ground scraping you yet again. You didn’t have time to pick yourself up from the fall when you heard the heavy thud of a body. You flinched, lifting your head only to see the unmoving heap that was the little girl you had been trying to save.

 

Flowey let out a distorted laugh, as if his voice had been run through some kind of synth. It startled you, causing you to gasp. In his vines he held the still glowing heart, the prize of his efforts.

 

“Give it back! Give her SOUL back now!!”

 

Flowey ignored you, his gaze trained on the SOUL. In an almost cartoonish fashion that Flowey opened his mouth wide enough that it almost looked as if it was coming unhinged.  Jagged edged teeth clamped down around the SOUL as it disappeared being eaten by the small flower monster. Flowey then looked to you, his face changing back to the sweet, kind looking one as he spoke.

 

“Well, howdy there! I’m Flowey! Flowey the flower! But,” His face changed back to the jaggier and raw looking face, the same one he wore as he killed the little girl and ate her SOUL. In that moment you could feel the blood drain from your face. “you can call me _your worst nightmare._ ”

 

No longer thinking and instead relying on pure instinct, you got sprang up onto your feet and ran as fast as your legs would carry you.

 

You bolted out from under the bridge, rounding the tree and headed towards the still open gate. You were glad that you didn't have to try to unlatch it, even if it would have been easy your mind was screaming that any extra seconds would be great help. You were just a few feet away from freedom when six vines and Flowey burst from the ground in front of you.

 

"Did you really think a pathetic human like you would be able to get away from _me_?"

 

You didn't stop, or rather couldn't due to the distance. You mentally prepared yourself to leap, hoping to jump over Flowey and elude capture. You were sure you could leap over Flowey's fairly small body, that wasn't really the issue; instead you were worried about the six vines that you just noticed had suddenly sprouted blood red thorns.

 

You swallowed any last bits of residual fear and leapt through the vines. You could feel two of them graze your body, one on your right arm, the other against your leg. You kept your eyes on the gate, readying yourself to keep running as fast as you could. The vines were a blur about you in a whipping mass of green, red, and strangely blue.

 

Somehow you managed to pass through Flowey's deadly vines and ended up making it to the gate unhindered.

 

You threw open the gate door, passing through as you could heard a loud cry of anger and hatred from Flowey. With a smooth motion you pushed the door behind you, closing it shut; just in case it might buy you some time because right then every second was precious.

 

“ _YOU…”_ You could hear Flowey yell from behind at you, but you refused to look back anymore. He would be following, you didn’t need to turn around to get that answer.

 

You didn’t stop running, even after the loud cries of anger started to fade into the distance. Eventually you made it to your car, luckily with no more signs of Flowey. You weren’t going to take any chances, quickly jumping in your car and speeding off. You just needed some distance and you would be safe.

 

Then, maybe, you would be able to recoup from what you had just witnessed.


	28. Route of Loss

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You wanted to call him; he needed to know what happened and that Flowey now had a SOUL. You finger hovered over the call button as you could feel your heart patter nervously. You shook your head, telling yourself that now was not the time to get awkward over a phone call. You were about to hit the button when your phone surprisingly started to buzz in your hand, the ring tone reverberating throughout the car. You were stunned for a moment, staring at Sans’s name. You almost missed the call completely, managing to remind yourself to answer the phone just before your ringtone ended.
> 
> "S-Sans?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So! These sets of chapters were some of my favorite to write and I really hope you're enjoying them X3 Just gonna cut to the chase and let you all read so I hope you enjoy!!
> 
> Next Update: 5/13/2016
> 
> **Edit**: It posted before I could get the coding in GAH! It's in now and so it should be good to go!

Somehow you made it home and quickly parked your car in an empty space. You noticed that your knuckles had gone white from your grip on the steering wheel; you had been more afraid than you thought you could ever be. You were not sure why you decided to bolt once Flowey had taken the girl’s SOUL, but you supposed it was just that you were not as brave as you thought you were. It had been a saving grace though, otherwise you wouldn't have made it out. Sans wasn't lying when he said this wouldn't be some simple fun adventure.

 

'Sans...' You thought, pulling out your phone and thumbing to his contact info.

 

You wanted to call him; he needed to know what happened and that Flowey now had a SOUL. You finger hovered over the call button as you could feel your heart patter nervously. You shook your head, telling yourself that now was not the time to get awkward over a phone call. You were about to hit the button when your phone surprisingly started to buzz in your hand, the ring tone reverberating throughout the car. You were stunned for a moment, staring at Sans’s name. You almost missed the call completely, managing to remind yourself to answer the phone just before your ringtone ended.

 

"S-Sans?"

 

"hey, buddy. i, uh, wanted to give you a call. ya know, see if everything was alright?" You tried to speak but your voice wouldn't come out. You wanted to tell him everything, but silence was your only response. "buddy, you okay?"

 

"Y-yeah, sorry." You forced the few words out, pinching the bridge of your nose. You had to find some way to tell him, but you didn't know if you were still just frightened or if you didn't want to admit that Sans told you so.

 

"'sokay. i'll just call you later or-"

 

"No!" You didn't want him to go. Just hearing a friendly voice was comforting and there would be no way your roommate could even begin to understand the situation. Though Raven would be back and she was your best friend, but you didn't want to deal with the matter of your disappearance. On the other hand being alone wasn't going to be the best option either. You took a few deep breaths, waiting for your nerves to calm, and tried to speak again. "No, Sans, it's fine. I'm just… a little shaken."

 

"something happen?"

 

"Yeah... Hey, Sans. Would you be willing to meet me back at the cliff? I'll tell you everything there."

 

“yeah, i can do that. my night is free anyway, so it works out.”

 

You had been prepared for a long pause followed by a rejection. You were not expecting Sans to be willing to go back twice to the same place in the same day. A small bubble of happiness welled in you at his accepting to meet you. At least you would be ending the day on a good note; or it was your hope that that meeting Sans would be one. You smiled and did your best to ignore the wet drops that were forming at your eyes out of relief to not have to be alone right then.

 

“Great. I’ll see you there.” You hung up the phone, wiping away the tears of gratitude from your face. You were glad that Sans hadn’t really been there to see you right then.

 

Once you were a bit calmer you sent a text to your roommate letting her know you were going out to meet a friend. It wasn’t much, but you figured that it was a start in trying to make amends with her. You placed your phone in a small cubby in your car and headed to the cliff.

 

The whole trip there you took in silence. You didn’t want to think of what just happened; not while driving at the very least. Soon you were at the cliff, just walking up the edge, using the light of your phone to be able to tell where you were going since the sun was now far below the horizon and a slivered moon danced just barely above the trees. You could see the silhouette of Sans standing near the edge.

 

“Hey… hope you weren’t waiting long, Sans.” You said as you came out of the dark shadowed pathway and into the open area.

 

“naw. just got here myself.” Sans said, glancing over his shoulder at you, wide smile still able to be seen in the moonlight despite how little there was. You figured that maybe it was just the soft glow of the city able to reflect off his bones even at this distance. You walked till you were beside him, sitting down at the edge and watching the light-made gems that littered the city.

 

“Why do I have this feeling you’re lying?” You joked, nudging him lightly with your elbow before sitting down, Sans following your lead without hesitation.

 

“i will have you know that i’m too lazy to lie.”

 

“Okay, now I’m _sure_ you’re lying.” You said, forcing a small giggle out.

 

“no, i’m fairly certain i am sitting.” Sans said matter-of-factly while holding a single finger up to add effect. You could feel the corners of your mouth start to curl, but the weight on your mind kept you melancholy.

 

“Oh, well I can see your _point_ there.” You said, doing your best to joke back.

 

“good, cause otherwise it would be kinda _pointless_. ” You couldn’t help but smile a little at his added pun. When you did, he nudged you back. “made you smile.”

 

“Hehe,” You smiled a bit more, nice to have someone trying to cheer you up for once. “Thanks, Sans.”

 

“so, uh, not to be overly direct, but do you wanna tell more jokes or do you wanna talk about what happened? you don’t have to if you don’t want to.”

 

“No, it’s fine.” You smile faded a little; it was the reason you had asked Sans to be here. You wanted his company, he was pretty witty and hilarious and you would have liked nothing more than to just hang out with him, but maybe another time fate would be kinder. “I need to talk about this.”

 

He nodded but didn’t speak in reply, merely waiting for you to start whatever story you were about to tell. You took a few deep breaths, centered yourself, and after aligning the events of what happened in your mind you started to speak.

 

“So I went to the bridge right after talking with you and Frisk today.” You waited for some kind of scolding. You figured after how hard Sans and Frisk fought you earlier he would have, but instead he nodded patiently waiting for you to continue.

 

“The gate lock was broken, so I entered and under the bridge I found Flowey. When I got there he was already in the process of _ripping_ her SOUL from her, Sans! It was…” You couldn’t find the right words. ‘Like ripping off a limb’? ‘Wanted to make you violently sick at just the pieces you did remember’? ‘Something you never wanted to see again even if someone paid you’? It had to be something along those lines, but nothing seemed to really fit the feelings going through you.

 

“Anyway,” You said, shaking your head in a physical attempt to push the horrid thoughts from your mind. “I tried to stop him, but I didn’t make it. He kept stopping me with his vines.”

 

“vines?” His ever-present smile faltered.

 

“Uh, yeah. He had six of them, I think? After he absorbed her SOUL they became covered in these blister red thorns or something. I managed to get away by the skin of my fucking teeth…”

 

“did you notice anything else? anything that might be abnormal?”

 

“Sans, the fact that a flower fucking _talked_ to me today is abnormal! I’m not really sure what is and isn’t supposed to be there.” It took you a moment but you felt horrible once you realized that you may have come off a bit harsher than you wanted to. “Sorry, Sans. It’s been…”

 

“rough day is probably what you’re looking for.”

 

“Yeah.” You said, giving Sans a kind half smile. “You could definitely say that.” You ran a hand through your hair as you re-aligned your thoughts, hoping you could remember anything that would be of any importance.

 

“But, um… I guess I noticed her SOUL was much smaller than mine and it was this dark green color. I didn’t really notice much of the surroundings since once I went under the bridge it all got a bit… hectic. Her SOUL was giving off some kind of electricity before it was, uh… _taken_. Only other thing would be that I noticed some blue when he tried to stop me at one point, so maybe his vines can do something I didn’t get a chance to see?” You inwardly shivered. If it was some other kind of power Flowey had, you were so very lucky you made it out at all.

 

“did you happen to see what it was?”

 

“No. It happened as I jumped over Flowey while trying to get away. Plus, once I had cleared Flowey I just kept running… I didn’t want to chance looking back.”

 

“hehe, well,” Sans said, shortly after. “ya did good, buddy. really.” Something in you snapped, something you had been trying to ignore. There wasn’t any way you could have stopped it.

 

“No, Sans! I didn’t. I _let_ a little girl die today. Instead of grabbing her body or fighting Flowey I just... _ran._ I bolted out of there like a _coward_ instead of trying to find some kind of solution! I could have saved her. No, I _should_ have saved her! She’d been missing for days! Her family just wanted her to be safe and home while a sadistic flower with an addenda brought her there without her even knowing why! She proba- no she _was_ terrified, and scared, and alone. I should have _fixed_ it, Sans. I should have-”

 

“h e y.” You flinched at the tone Sans had taken.

 

It was only now that you realized tears were streaming down your face, your hands tightly clenching the fabric of your pants. You looked at Sans, unsure as to what you should do. You felt as if you were some broken pot being held together with sticky syrup, about to shatter at any moment. You had escaped with your life while leaving her behind. You had just witnessed a child die before you and you were powerless to do anything about it. The thing you thought was the real punchline of the joke; you were so distraught yet you didn’t even know her name.

 

“her death, that’s in no way your fault. you did everything you could and, uh, as _bad_ as it sounds, you’re the first who was even able to; let alone willing to. _you did all you could_ , and you didn’t even have to do that.”

 

“Sans… she should be _alive_ right now…”

 

“i know what you mean. i know how you feel. the death of someone else, close or not, isn’t easy. if its anything, you found of some information we didn’t know before. _very_ important information. not only that, there are still four more people we gatta try to save and there’s also the resets; you can save her next time around, but lets focus on the rest of them for now? ” Sans gave you a hopeful smile as he placed a hand on your shoulder. ‘That’s right…’ You thought, remembering that she was to be the first of six Flowey was after.

 

“look, i’m _the_ shittiest planner this side of the underground, but i can at least try help out a little bit with trying plan a way to save the rest; at the least. ” As Sans talked you relaxed your grip, doing your best to wipe the tears from your eyes.

 

You were a mess and you hated it. You never broke down in front of people like this, and you were already scolding yourself mentally for it. It was hard though with Sans’s words sounding as kind as they did. You nodded in response as you cleared your face. Plans, action, steadfast decisions, all of it would help, and even if you couldn’t save this one child, maybe you could save the next.

 

“I’m… kinda curious though. What kind of information did I _find_? All I did was go there and… well, put myself in danger.”

 

“the vines.”

 

“What?”

 

“well, flowey isn’t supposed to be able to have vines to control. he must have had another victim _before_ he got to Alexis, the girl you tried to save today. ”

 

“Sans,” You said with a slight sniffle, a small remnant of your crying. “how do you know that?”

 

“oh, uh, i heard it from the kiddo. they, um, said that flowey will gain more abilities with each SOUL they consume. alphys broke it down once. first is always his vines, second is the thorns, third is electricity, you get the gist. but its something she only discovered last few times around.”

 

“Sans,” You started cautiously with a question you had been wanting to ask for some time. “how many resets have there been? How much time have you, Alphys, and Frisk had in all this?”

 

"2,437." You stared at Sans with a blank expression. "ya know, its nothing compared to if you count the number of saves too. goes up to 81,219 or somethin'."

 

“For how long?”

 

"several years, sometime around 201X, before frisk came to the underground. we, uh, don't have much information from back then. alphys wasn't able to complete the time-resistant logs till shortly before frisk showed up. we still had a number count of times reset, but no idea as to what frisk was doing with all those on the surface. our memories were also a lot more choppy, the logs helped but, without any kind of notes from that time we really have no idea what happened."

 

“That’s… horrible.”

 

You felt horrible for the possible resets, saves, and relived timelines Sans had been through and remembered. However, a topic from your own past started to bubble forward. Things in your mind were clicking together, a larger picture that you should have seen before. There was so much that made sense now and so many things you wished you could now change.

 

"well,” Sans said trying to fill the sudden silence “we can remember better now so-"

 

"No its not that. Just, for _years_ I've been having what I thought was just out of control déjà vu. Not, _memories_ or impressions of past timelines!" You said with a strained voice.

 

You weren't sure how to feel about it, or rather maybe your emotions hadn’t caught up to you yet. The flakes and specks of memories you had always passed off as déjà vu. Non-important things that could have been ignored. None of them were strong, none of them felt solid or clear as the one’s you had been having since the monsters came to the surface or the full flashes when you had met Sans again after a reset. It didn’t change that the timelines for you matched, that it all could be nicely wrapped and sealed tight as one solid experience.

 

If you had known, things would have been different. _You_ would have been different. There were countless times you could clearly remember having those memories and pieces trigger; times that were before tragedy in your life struck. You could have said _goodbye_ or somehow fix the problems before they even happened. There was so much you could have fixed in those years.

 

Everything could have been better.

 

"its better to not be able to change the past."

 

"W-what?" You were jostled by Sans's voice abruptly.

 

"changing the past, it isn't all it's cracked up to be."

 

"There were people I knew who died, Sans... I could have fixed that, or at least said goodbye..."

 

"trust me, i get it. the underground wasn't free from its own tragedies. its just-"

 

"Don’t get me wrong, I _get_ the whole 'cycle of life' thing." You explained, pulling your knees up against your chest, wrapping your arms around your legs. "The whole endless tango of birth and death. I get it. I've thought about death more that I would ever like to ever admit... But there is one single thing that if I could change it, I would. I could have had that chance, Sans. I could have had that chance to do something _right_ for once."

 

"hey, you do plenty of things right." Sans said, his voice soft and consoling.

 

You felt an electric shock run through you as you realized how much you just started pouring your feelings out all over Sans. You did your best to pull in your emotions; they were something you had to deal with, not Sans. You had invited him here to tell him what happened, not for him to be a shoulder for you to cry on. No one deserved to be put into that kind of fate.

 

"Yeah, your right. Sorry, just, my head got a bit away from me." You said quickly, trying to keep your voice under control. "I'd better go, Sans."

 

"you don't have to, you know." Sans offered as you let your legs dangle back over the edge. Honestly, you didn't want to go. You wanted to stay and talk more with Sans. You were comfortable with him to the point that you forgot you were just becoming friends and started to almost pour your life woes out on him. He didn't need to deal with your guilt.

 

"No, it'd... it would be better if I did. Unless, ya know, you have any more questions about earlier."

 

"well, not questions, but how about a story?" You didn't want to leave. Staying probably would be a bad idea, but how bad could it be to hear one small story?

 

"... Alright, I'll stay." You gave Sans a weak smile.

 

"so, this is a really long time ago, back before we started to notice any resets or timeline changes. papyrus and i lived in the capital of the underground called new home."

 

"New Home?" You asked, cracking a small smile at the simple and uncreative name.

 

"yeah," Sans smirked. "old asgore wasn't the best at picking names. but, uh, anyway, it was just me and papyrus. paps was still pretty young, he had some big aspirations to be apart of the royal guard. everyday he go and watch them practice only to come home trying the same moves he saw earlier that day. we had to move a lot due to the damage sometimes, but some of the crap paps learned to do was worth it.”

 

“it was shortly after we moved to snowdin that paps became a lot more aggressive with wanting to get into the royal guard. it could have been the events of the time, but i think it was more to do with undyne living almost next door. after we finished moving all of our stuff he headed over without telling me. later, he informed me he had gone to  knock on her door. it was sometime around midnight so she slammed the door on him of course, but paps is really stubborn. he stood outside her door all night. hehe, long story short, undyne was impressed and decided to training him."

 

“every day he would come home from training complete exhausted, but he would still smile and be cheery. there was even a point in which undyne stopped training him, instead teaching him to cook and whatnot. he never let it get him down, saying things like ‘this is just specialty training, sans! undyne must have something very special prepared for me if she’s giving me this training and no one else! you’ll see!’.”

 

You smiled. You could definitely see Papyrus doing that. It didn't really matter what happened he always seemed to give it 110% and could always see that silver lining in the face of adversity. You wondered if that was why Sans was telling you this story; to remind you to find the good side in all this mayhem.

 

"How does he do it?" You asked, only slightly jealous of Papyrus’s ability to push through and believe in people so much.

 

"no idea. he didn't get it from me, that’s for sure. however he got that much energy, i hope it never runs out.” Sans’s face drooped, a frown slowly replacing the smile. “there, uh, is another story though.”

 

You perked up, not sure if this was a story you wanted to hear or not. On one hand, whatever story Sans was about to tell might just further your dark spiral. On the other, Sans was opening up to you for once without you having to pry it out of him with a metaphorical crow bar. You decided that you wanted to listen to the rest of the story even if it made you sad. It was the first time Sans was allowing you to get close and you weren’t going to pass it up.

 

“there were... _times,_ when things in the underground were pretty scary. monsters were _falling down,_ or, uh, dying. anyway, papyrus and i were evacuating snowdin, getting all the monsters that couldn’t fight to safety. ”

 

“Why were you evacuating?”

 

“uh..” Sans fidgeted for a moment as he tried to answer your question. “well, that’s a long story for much later. i promise i’ll tell you another time.” You let out a small sigh and nodded; at least he said he would tell you later. Sans then turned away from you, focusing on the city in the distance.

 

“anyway, the underground was under attack for the first time. we were evacuating the last few monsters out when papyrus said he was going to stay behind to make sure we didn’t miss anyone. what i didn’t know was that he was staying behind to try and stop the attacker. he…”

 

“well, sometime after that the time the timeline reset. it was a few more resets later that it started happening again i tried to stop him. i knew he was going to die, that he didn’t stand a chance; he wouldn’t listen. i tried to get the rest of the town out and get back in time; but i never made it. the timeline didn’t go back that time either…”

 

“so… what I’m trying to say is i know what its like to lose someone, what its like to be powerless to be able to stop it from happening.”

 

You were not sure what to say. You didn’t have anyone else who had been through the same kind of loss; or any for that matter. Death was always something far from most people. You were glad that, even if both situations were horrible, it seemed like at least Sans understood.

 

“hehe. ya know, the times i tried to stop him he would tell me the same damned thing. ‘i believe in them, sans! i know they are better than this! i can get them to stop, sans. i know it!’ and i would let him go because some part of me always believed he could. he never could remember any of the timelines, I tried once, yet he would always believe the best in people; no matter what they had done. papyrus is just full of integrity like that.”

 

“He is.” You confirmed. “I’m sorry you had to ever lose him, but… but you know, you have him now, and I’m so glad you do and I got the chance to meet him, Sans.”

 

“me too, buddy. me too.”


	29. The Lies We Tell Ourselves

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I lied.” You started by saying. You could already feel tears welling up again. You hated crying, it wasn’t that it was weakness; it was to protect yourself. However, it was only fair that you share your story now that Sans had shared his.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is late!!! I had been in the middle of some heavy writing which I'm very pleased about for sure!
> 
> Anyway, this is a chapter I have been looking forward to for a long time now and I really hope that you all enjoy it and much as I did writing it (as always X3)
> 
> Next update: 5/16/2016

“I lied.” You started by saying. You could already feel tears welling up again. You hated crying, it wasn’t that it was weakness; it was to protect yourself. However, it was only fair that you share your story now that Sans had shared his.

 

“how so?”

 

“I… had a brother.” Sans was quiet and didn’t respond. You took the moment to grab a side glance of him. His eyes were glued to you, wide and motionless. “It was about two years ago. The… I’m not sure what to call it. Reading Steiner? Time-resistant memories? Well, whatever they are, they had been happening a while by then. My brother was fine or at least everyone thought him to be.”

 

“Hehe,” You wiped away tears forming at the edges of your eyes as you let out a small laugh. It wasn’t really something that was funny, but it was the better alternative to breaking into sobs. “he always like to pretend he was okay. Through the worst things, ya know? Maybe it was just because of how our family was, maybe it was just how he was. I guess though that it didn’t matter how he got that way. It could be that he was the peace keeper of the family, the one thing that allowed us in our dysfunction to occasionally communicate at all. As a kid he wasn’t really able to do much or be there for me, too wrapped up in his own life; it was understandable and I never blamed him for turning a blind eye to the abuse. As an adult though, he came to be my rock and I didn’t really have anyone to rely on besides him when it came to our family. They were, let’s just say a little egomaniacal.”

 

“One day, I had this strange feeling something horrible was going to happen to him. Then, when I got the call from my mom, telling me he was in the hospital, I _kinda_ freaked. I was at work, they didn’t want to let me leave and I was causing this whole scene. I was about to walk out when I got another call from my mother saying he had stabilized; that it seemed for now he was going to make it and I should just come visit after work. So I listened to her, but that feeling didn’t go away.”

 

You knew the next lines you were going to have to say. Lines you hated saying and never wanted to admit even happened. You wished that you could go back to then or further, but you had no control. There would never be anything you could do to change what happened. You could smell the salt from your tears as they crossed your face and a heavy weight from a hand Sans had placed on your shoulder.

 

“After work I headed over. It didn’t matter though, he was gone by the time I got there and my mom had somehow forgotten to call me to let me know.” You took a few deep breaths, trying to steady yourself if possible so that you could continue.

 

“Apparently, he had rapid advancing leukemia. No one in our family noticed, at least not until it was too late. _I_ had noticed long before anything happened, but he had _said_ he was fine… that everything was okay… I was dumb to believe him.” The deep breaths didn’t help. The tears were coming on full force, making constant flowing rivers down your face. You wish for a moment that it was raining; it would have been easier to mask your grief.

 

“He was my best friend and my brother; someone I had been planning to know for the rest of my life. In a day he was just… _ripped away_... I never got to say goodbye. Eventually, I thought it would become easier. It never did, so instead I… I started to pretend… It helped avoid answering questions I didn’t want to think about… ”

 

You relaxed your legs, letting them dangle back over the edge as you used your hands to wipe your eyes, trying to get the tears to stop. There was nothing that could be said, nothing that could turn the pain off and bury it forever. It would be a ghost always following, haunting you in the background of your life always. You cried, unable to stop the tears as Sans silently sat beside you, his hand still heavy on your shoulder. Whether he was waiting for you to run dry, find the right words to say, or given you the space he thought you might need, you were grateful for the quiet.

 

“hey.” Sans said after a while, breaking the silence when your sobbing had started to subside. “losing someone it’s easy. it doesn’t matter who it is; when they’re close to you, that’s all that matters. i'm sorry that you lost him though...”

 

“Yeah...” You gave Sans a weak smile, the tears on your face finally starting to dry up and finally leaving you be. “Sorry about this, Sans... I know what you went through this too… I just felt it was right to tell you my story; since you told me yours.“

 

“hey, buddy, if there is one thing i’ve learned is you can’t quantify pain. pain isn’t some physical magical rock that we can carry and compare how many we each have. pain is just what it is. _pain_. i might have lost papyrus before, but i have him now. something paps taught me is to count your blessings, but don’t tell him that, cause his head might get too big. ” You cracked a smile, taking this small moment to remove some of the tears from your face.

 

“Hopefully not too big, otherwise it’ll be like playing Goldeneye all over again.” You chuckled, Sans laughing awkwardly before raising an eyebrow quizzically. You then realized he didn’t get the reference; once you felt better you would definitely have to rectify this. “Oh, sorry, it’s a game, first person shooter. There was a way to give everyone giant heads, I’ll have to show you sometime.”

 

“hehe, sounds like a good time, my friend”

 

“Definitely.” You did your best to give Sans a smile, but the weight of remorse and regret hung heavy in you. “Anyway, I don’t know, Sans… I mean… I lost my brother, but I only had to lose him once…”

 

“and so that’s makes your pain less?”

 

“No. But-“

 

“then it doesn’t matter. ‘sides, as, uh, much as it can hurt to think about those timelines they’re not the ones right now. papyrus is fine right now and will be fine still after every reset _if_ something happens to him. i could always count on him coming back, even if it hurts the same i still have the hope of seeing him again. you’re pain, no matter what, is not less than anyone else’s; especially mine. ”

 

You wanted to fight Sans’s logic. There was something in you trying to reject it, to throw it out even thought he was completely right and it made perfect sense. You knew what it was, some remnant of your past trying to undermine you and force you into wrongful thinking. Besides that, Sans was a _goldmine_ in respects to how he could have been with what you told him; somehow people don’t always react the best way towards someone like yourself.

 

“You’re right. You’re absolutely right. I just… get a bit carried away sometimes, I guess.”

 

“don’t worry about it. anything for my favorite human.” Sans gave you a wink and a large smile. Yes, you were absolutely going to be trying to keep him as a friend for a long time.

 

Though you were feeling better you could still feel the sticky mood overhanging on your soul. You already knew this was going to be one that would stay and there wasn’t much you could do about it. Maybe it was because of the confrontation with Raven the day before; maybe it was just because of the memories from two years ago. Either way, depression was not a kind creature to you and you could feel its shadow looming. You needed someway to beat it and you already had an idea you had been wanting to do for some time.

 

“Hey, uh, Sans?”

 

“yeah?”

 

“I know this is kind of out of the blue, but would you want to do that promised hang out thing sometime soon? You know, take a break for a bit from all this time line stuff and what not.”

 

“actually, i had been thinking the same thing.”

 

“Oh?” You did your best to keep your voice from cracking. It was purely because of the surprise that Sans also wanted to hang out and not at all the possible implication of Sans wanting to spend more time with you as well. Not at all.

 

“well, tomorrow alphys is having an anime marathon at her place. it’s something to keep us busy while we’re waiting for time to move pretty much. frisk might be able to go back, but they can’t go forward. if you’re not busy i could, uh, see if you could tag along?”

 

“If everyone doesn’t mind.” You ran your hand through your hair again, unsure if going to see anime with the other monsters would be a good idea. Sure Toriel, Sans, Papyrus, and Frisk seemed to all like you well enough, but Undyne and Alphys were a different story. Alphys didn’t seem mean or anything, but Sans mentioned that she usually hung out with Undyne and from your last encounter that could be problematic.

 

“leave it to me. i’m sure they won’t mind.”

 

“Well," You said apprehensively. "as long as you make sure to ask everyone if it's okay. I don’t want to make anything worse than it is just by being there.”

 

“if you’re worried about undyne, i wouldn’t. she’s just a, uh, _bit_ distrusting of humans still. really, she’s very kind once she gets to know you. ”

 

“Alright.” You said after letting out a huge sigh. “I trust ya Sans. So, um, anything I should bring then?” Sans smiled, eyes half lidded.

 

“just yourself.”


	30. Good to Have Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You could feel your face starting to heat up; quickly reminding yourself that Sans was not in anyway meaning the conclusion your heart was jumping to. He was being kind and friendly, even if you both were having to deal with resets and homicidal flowers. He seemed fine with being your friend as much as you did. It was a good thing and you shouldn’t try to ruin it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M SO SORRY.
> 
> The update is late because it completely slipped my mind somehow, so I heavily apologize for this!!
> 
> However here it is, even though its late! I still hope you all enjoy it and look forward to the next update (which I promise to post on time!)
> 
> Next Update: 5/20/16

You could feel your face starting to heat up; quickly reminding yourself that Sans was not in anyway meaning the conclusion your heart was jumping to. He was being kind and friendly, even if you both were having to deal with resets and homicidal flowers. He seemed fine with being your friend as much as you did. It was a good thing and you shouldn’t try to ruin it.

 

“Hehe, alright. But, I still would feel more comfortable if I at least brought something. Is anyone allergic to anything?”

 

“i, uh, don’t think so; do you have something in mind your wanting to bring.”

 

“Not yet, but it doesn’t hurt to ask.” You felt a smile settle on your face. Talking about something else was starting to help. The only issue was it had been at least a few hours not you had spent up on the cliffs with Sans and it really was time for you to head home. “I really better get going though, before I start to worry my roommate… again.” You said as you stood up, Sans following your lead.

 

“well, i would _patella_ you another story, but i guess that will have to wait for later. ” Your smile grew at the pun. You mind wasn’t really able to come up with something to add; grief was a heavy mental fog for sure.

 

“I look forward to it, Sans.” You were about to say goodbye when you realized you knew the party was tomorrow but you had no idea on what the time would be or where. “Oh! Uh, Sans, what time is the party tomorrow?”

 

“i think alphys planned to have it sometime around twelve at her lab, i promise that i’ll text you if i’m wrong.”

 

“Your phone can text?” Sans let out a chuckle at your question.

 

“i know it may not look like much, but alphys specially designed it. it can do almost as much as your phone, besides take pictures.”

 

“I would like to see that.” You said with a small laugh. You and him were definitely going to compare his paper weight of a phone to yours sometime, just to sate your own curiosity. “But, well… thanks for coming out here to meet with me, Sans. And for, ya know…” You couldn’t bring yourself to say ‘thanks for the moral support’, the words catching in your throat.

 

“eh, don’t sweat it, buddy. anytime.”

 

“S-same for you, Sans.” You stumbled over your words. You meant it only you were not good at dealing with your own issues and baggage. Someone else’s was always a lot easier to help with, it was something you were far more prepared for. You always believed it was because of having a more outside view of it all. That somehow the step back allowed for a deeper and more wise knowing of the problems at hand. It left you feeling strange and vulnerable talking about your own, but in the end you were glad you had at least said a little.

 

You were not sure how to say goodbye to Sans, now after spilling some of the overflowing cup that was your emotions all over him. Before it was just a simple wave and that was it. Really you wanted nothing more than to embrace Sans, but you were not sure it would be right or what reasons you were wanting it for. You guessed it was just your feelings from before flooding you still, so you took the safe route and held out your hand for a fist-bump. Friendly, but not too close; it was perfect.

 

“I’ll see you later then, okay?” Sans smiled up at you and met your fist with his own.

 

“yup. see ya later.”

 

You nodded, giving Sans one last smile and headed the direction you originally came from. You stopped at the edge of the trees, looking back to see if Sans was still there, but found him to already be gone. You smirked to yourself, finding it odd how Sans liked to disappear when no one was looking. It was just another interesting piece that made up the enigma that was Sans.

 

You headed down the trail, again using your phone for light as you traveled down the dark path. You made it safely, only managing to trip once on the way back down. Soon you were headed home, driving on semi-deserted streets with the last signs of people drifting homeward.

 

You took your time, knowing what was going to be waiting for you. You roommate was probably home by now, or at least you assumed as such. You could feel your hands start to shake knowing what kind of shit-fest you were going to be walking into.

 

You did deserve it. You were horrible at informing people where you were. It was something of a curse almost, you would just focus on what you wanted to do and sometimes everything else slipped away. It was frustrating.

 

You now had ‘being attacked by a flower’ on your list of things you’ve done and yet trying to face your roommate right now scared you more. You could make a plan and take action, throwing yourself into not-fully-understood danger, yet right now was when you were wanting to turn around. Your grip on the steering wheel tightened as you continued to drive. Sometimes you wished you were better than you were, that you had more courage or at least some kind of strength for yourself. You had many fights in high school defending your friends in many situations; got into at least two fist fights. Yet, the moment it came to yourself all your passion was gone.

 

Ironic didn’t truly seem to suffice for how you felt the situation was, but it would do for now.

 

The trip was too short, finding yourself in the parking lot of your apartment complex once again. You turned off your car, sitting in it like a replay from just a few hours ago. You couldn’t run away any longer from this. You knew you fucked up, pretty hard core, you just didn’t have a solution and there was nothing more that you hated then running into a confrontation without some kind of plan.

 

You took a few deep breaths, trying to calm yourself. You could feel your heart thumping in your chest. It felt as like it was beating rapidly, even though it wasn’t. You could feel your pulse throbbing through your body at a normal rate. It must have been your nerves forcing such an anxious feeling.

 

It didn’t matter what you did, you were not able to bring yourself to a more manageable state; you were going to have go in as you were. You took a few more meditative breaths, hoping they would give you a little emotional footing to stand on as you left the car and headed to your apartment.

 

When you got to your door, you slowly unlocked it, hoping that if Raven was still mad that she wouldn’t com hurling at you filled with rage and discontent. You peeked inside, glancing around the living room to see if she was there, but found it empty.

 

“Raven?” You called as you closed the door behind you. You received your answer with a loud crash coming from Raven’s room. You moved over towards her door on the far side of the apartment as Raven came stumbling out of the room, using her door handle to hold herself up.

 

"Uh, h-hey, Raven." You offered with a small wave.

 

"H-hey..." As far as you could tell she didn't seem angry. Her voice was quiet and subdued, her face looked as if she might have been crying, but you couldn't really tell.

 

Raven took the silence to stand up straight, placing her hands behind her back as she stared at the ground.

 

"So, um... about earlier."

 

"Raven, I know that an apology isn't going to fix that I probably scared the shit out of you."

 

"Yeah, no duh." She said smirking, her voice sounding slightly more normal and life filled.

 

"Aaand I know that there isn't really anything I could do to make it up to you. But, know that I really am sorry. There's been some... strange stuff going down in my life-"

 

"Stranger than monsters coming from the mountain?" She let out a small giggle at her own joke. You did your best to laugh as well as to not tip her off that indeed what was happening was stranger than monsters from the mountain.

 

"Well, it's complicated, but still I wasn't thinking. So, I can understand if you would rather me try to find a new place to live or something, since I'm not the easiest person to live with..."

 

"I'm not going to be kicking you out." Raven said rocking a little on the balls of her feet. "I gave it all some thought, I know this isn't something you would have done normally. I'm not sure what the real reason you went up to the mountain is, but I'm really just glad that you came back alive. Just promise me that you will _never_ do that again-"

 

"Promise."

 

"- _and_ , that you will do the chores for the next two weeks." A cunning smile crossed Raven's lips. You knew you shouldn't have agreed to something so quickly.

 

"Awe, come on! That's not fair!"

 

"I think it's perfectly fair! Besides, you already agreed." Her smile widened to where she was beaming, happy to entrap you in verbal agreement.

 

"Nope! I agreed to never disappear into the woods again for days; I didn't agree to chores." You said sticking out your tongue and crossing your arms against your chest. Truthfully, you were fine with doing two weeks worth of chores. Didn't mean that you were going to pass up a perfectly good chance to be snarky. Besides, Raven had known you for a few years now; you figured she knew by this point you were more joking than anything.

 

"Well, if you're not going to agree to it, then I need to get _my revenge_."

 

You didn't have much time to react, Raven suddenly lunged forward hands quickly finding your sides and began to tickle you mercilessly.

 

"No!!" You howled in laughter as did your best to tickle her back.

 

This went on for a while since Raven was actually very tall for a girl and subsequently had longer arms than you as well. It never bode well for you, but you always gave it your all no matter what; even though you would usually lose to Raven. Plus, it didn't help that she was also very good at using her legs. The only advantage you had was your strength. It was much later at some point that you were able to pin her hands above her head. You knew it wouldn't work her since she was actually quite good at breaking wrist holds, but it allowed you at least a small breather.

 

"You give up?" She said from beneath you, breathing heavy.

 

Purely from a knowledge based point of view, you should give up here. There would be no way you would win against her, unless you managed to wear her down since you had more endurance. Besides, she was giving you an out and a silent promise to stop tickling you for now. However, on the other hand, you were stubborn and didn't like to give up _that_ easily.

 

"Hmmmm... How about never?" You said before lunging at her underarms.

 

Eventually the two of you ran completely out of energy and flopped on the couch. You had indeed lost, but did so without admitting it verbally; which was a small win in your book. Though you couldn't move from your spot on the couch you were still smiling brightly. It was a good way to end the night, even if it was Raven's 'revenge'.

 

"One week."

 

"Huh?" You replied, not quite catching what Raven was talking about.

 

"I'll lower it to one week instead. How about that?" You let out a small chuckle as you nodded in agreement. For this being her 'revenge' you were sure getting a lot more out of it than you thought you would.

 

"Sure. Sounds good to me."


	31. Bone-Friend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You woke up to your phone's ring tone buzzing violently beside your head. You were unsure when you feel asleep or how long you had been asleep for, but you felt a lot more rested than when you had woken up earlier. You lazily grabbed your phone, looking at the screen to see Sans' name in the middle. You slid the screen to answer, doing your best to sound awake, but knowing you were failing miserably.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Posting a bit later again but at least it's not as late as the last one for sure! XD Anyway, I really hope this one is a chapter you all enjoy and with that I will let you read!
> 
> Next Update: 5/23/16

Though you had been feeling stressed and nervous when you came home you were now feeling at least a bit better. Tickle fights were always good for physical distractions, even if you were now stuck cleaning for a week. You were glad with how it all went down. Luckily, Raven wasn't really mad at you any longer. You were tired enough that your depression wouldn't chase you to bed and, if you were honest with yourself, that was all you could ask for.

 

Raven bid you goodnight as she went about her own way. You wanted to stay up for a few more hours, but if you did, you would regret it tomorrow.

 

"Well... future me can deal with it." you mumbled to yourself as you pulled the worn, large yellow children's book from its shelf.

 

On the cover, which had a large two-inch tear starting at the top, you read the familiar title of 'A'luarisde Book of Monster Myths'. The pages were warped and stained yellow from coffee once being spilt on it and ou didn't need to open it up to remember the pages your brother had 'colored' in when he was a kid. You looked at it fondly, glad that it eventually lead you to where you were today. Even if it was the worst-kept book you owned.

 

Though it was labeled as 'myths', you supposed there was a lot more to each story than you had ever thought there could be. You flipped open the book, turned to a random story inside, and started to read. Part of you wanted to see if there was more information, outside of Sans, that you could garner. The other part, a deeply ignored and buried fragment of yourself, simply wanted to remember when you and your brother shared the same book.

 

You spent the next while reading, staying up far later than you should have. You had gone through two of the stories when you couldn't keep your eyes open anymore and you knew you needed to sleep. You dropped your book on the side of your bed, then set an alarm on your phone that you hoped you would wake up in time for the party.

 

You quickly fell asleep, no nightmares coming to prey on the very few hours you were able to have. It was early morning when your alarm buzzed with a high pitch sound disrupting your much wanted slumber. You pressed a few keys on your phone, getting it to turn off the alarm. You pulled yourself out of bed slowly, making a mental list of the things you needed to do today as you did so.

 

You wanted nothing more than to just go back to sleep. After a few minutes of sitting up in your bed, you decided that laying down for a just a bit longer couldn't hurt. Besides, it was your weekend and as long as you woke up in another hour, you would still have plenty of time to make something for the party.

 

[-]-[-]-[-]

 

You woke up to your phone's ring tone buzzing violently beside your head. You were unsure when you feel asleep or how long you had been asleep for, but you felt a lot more rested than when you had woken up earlier. You lazily grabbed your phone, looking at the screen to see Sans' name in the middle. You slid the screen to answer, doing your best to sound awake, but knowing you were failing miserably.

 

"'ello, Sssans. Sup?"

 

"ey, buddy. you, uh, doing okay there?" You were about to answer, but instead let out a long yawn into the phone that you were too sleepy to be able to stop. "hehe, i suppose that answers my question. having a cat-nap?"

 

"Mmm, _paws_ -itivly." Your pun caused Sans to chuckle.

 

"well, i was just _clawing_ to let you know the party's gonna be at two instead. " You started to wake up a little more at the mention of the party.

 

"What time issit now?" you managed to slur out as you pulled the phone away from your face trying to figure out the time.

 

"hehe," you heard Sans laugh nervously. "well, it's almost twelve already. i thought i had been calling you a bit late but it seems i called you at the _purr_ fect time." As Sans's muffled voice traveled out of the phone, you saw that it was 11:28. You smacked yourself in the forehead for allowing sleepy-you to have their way and rest a bit longer. This always happened, but it was always really hard to fight against tired-you.

 

"Fuck. Yeah, you really did." You said much more awake and alert now as you pulled yourself out of bed. "I'm gonna get ready then." You were about to hang up and say goodbye, when you realized you had no idea where you were even going to be heading for this party.

 

"Oh, Sans, where am I going to even find this party? The mountain is still kind off limits, right?"

 

"oh, right, hadn't thought of that." You told yourself to start believing Sans more often. He was right about his planning skills and he was right about Papyrus's spaghetti; you wondered what was next. "well, its gonna be at alphys's lab in the underground. so..."

 

"Well, what about at the cliff? I can take a bit of medication beforehand and, uh, maybe you can teleport?" You cringed as you asked your question, regretting it as you spoke. You didn't want Sans to feel like you were using him, it was just there would be no way for you to make it on time by 1 if you were walking up the mountain. Sadly, it was starting to look like canceling would be the better choice.

 

"uh, that would be fine, but it would require multiple 'shortcuts'. you think you can handle that?" One there and one back, you knew you could handle that. The idea of multiple ones though sounded like a horrible plan and you swore you could already feel the vertigo.

 

"Well, I could go to the mountain again. Its just might take me a while to find a place close by." Hell, off the top of your head you didn't know any places. As much as you had watched the mountain with awe and wonder, you had never been to it until last week when you got lost in the area. "Actually... Sans, this doesn't seem like it's going to-"

 

"hold up there, buddy. i've still got a few ideas. what if i came to pick you up? i'm pretty sure your house will be a lot easier to find than a path in the forest. 'sides, once we're near the mountain i know a few close trails that the police don't really block. as long as you're, uh, comfortable with me coming over to your place."

 

"Y-yeah!" You said quickly, your voice shaking slightly. "That would be neat!" For some reason you’re face was flush, though you were not sure exactly _why_ you were blushing. He had invited you over to hang out, with others, and he was just trying to help make sure you get there. He was just being a good friend and if he was offering to do this then it must not have been out of his way.

 

"okay. so, uh, where can i find ya?"

 

You swallowed down your irrational feelings and quickly gave Sans your address. You were not sure he would be able to find you, but he didn't seem confused at all by it and didn't even ask for any kind of landmarks. You suspected that it was probably due to having remembered to many timelines in the city and it made you wonder just how much of the city Sans really knew.

 

"so, see you at one?"

 

"You sure you'll find the place alright?"

 

"hehe, yeah, told you my phone can do a lot more than just call." You rolled your eyes and smirked, mentally betting he was going to get lost and call you. There was no way his phone, as old as it was, had built in GPS. Then again, you kept underestimating Sans, so maybe his phone really did have GSP even for its age. Still, you wanted to see it just because there wasn't a way you could even imagine the phone being able to show you a map.

 

"Okay then, if you say so. See you at one, Sans" You said with a smile.

 

"later." You could hear the call disconnect and were once again alone in your room. It wasn't like you hadn't been alone before, but the severed connection from the call still left you feeling empty.

 

You threw your phone on the bed as you decided to ignore the lonely ache now hovering in the background and get ready. It was something that would pass and soon you would forget it. Eventually, Sans would be there to pick you up, lead you to where Alphys lived, and you would be watching anime. If anything it would just be like a date, but with less hopefully awkwardness.

 

You had been pulling out a new clean shirt when you froze at the idea of Sans picking you up for a date. You vigorously shook your head and patted at your cheeks. Now your mind was definitely going too far. At the very _most_ you might have small, still growing feelings for the skeleton, but it was not the time nor place for you to explore them. Besides, you hardly knew him and he hardly knew you. You heart was just making crazy leaps now and you were done with it. Mentally, you gathered up all of the small droplets of feeling you ‘might’ have for Sans and shoved them down somewhere deep and dark.

 

For now you were going to be picked up _by a friend_ and you were going to watch anime and that was it. End of story.

 

You finished picking out your clothes changing into them as quickly as you could before giving your hair a good quick brushing. Eventually, you were satisfied with how you looked and went back to your phone to check on the time.

 

It was now just a little after 12, you believed you still had some time before one to grab some kind of food. It would have to be some kind of typical ‘party plater’ or something, but it would be better than showing up with nothing.

 

You got in the car, headed to the store, and rapidly picked the first large party plater you saw before purchasing it. The lines weren’t very long and when you got in the car you felt that everything would go grate; that was until you got home. You had just finished unlocking the door, bring in the plater you had bought when a conversation reached your ears

 

“yeah, but at least it was eventful. i’d be telling a _fibula_ if i said i didn’t like a little excitement now and then.”

 

“Well, I just hope they were not too much of a handful to take care of. They can be more kid than adult most days. That reminds me of _another_ story. This one time-”

 

‘Oh no.’ You thought, quickly locating your roommate and Sans who were standing near the kitchen. Your roommate was handing him a glass of water when they noticed you.

 

“Speak of the devil.” Raven said with a smirk.

 

You were not sure if this was really good or really, really bad. It all depended on what Raven was telling Sans and from the last bits you caught it probably wasn’t your best moments.

 

“So,” Raven said as she walked over to you, wrapped an arm around your shoulder, and leaned on you with her full body weight. “you go up to the mountain and bag yourself a cutie I see. When were you going to tell me you had a _hot date_ tonight?”

 

Yep. It was definitely really, really bad. You should have never left the house for food and have just stayed put.

 

“R-Raven!” You said shoving her arm off of you, spinning around to face her and hide your quickly reddening face from Sans. “It’s not a date! Sans just invited me to an anime party-thing! There will be other people there, it is no way a date!”

 

“But _I’m_ not invited.” She said coyly.

 

“Because you _have work, Raven_! And it’s not _my_ party to invite you too!”

 

“trying to keep me all to yourself i see.” Sans said as he came up from behind you, moving to be semi situated between you and Raven. “ _ulna_ gonna make me blush. ” He gave you a wink with his left eye as you could hear Raven try to hold back her laughter.

 

You could almost feel the heat radiating off your skin. There was no way you were able to hide it in any way shape or form; besides, trying not to act embarrassed was one of your worst skills. You buried your face in your hands in an attempt to hide the red of your skin as well as the large smile from the horribles puns Sans kept telling.

 

“I hate you both!”

 

“don’t tell me you were just _ribbing_ me about it. ”

 

“Yeah, I thought you wanted him to be your _bone buddy_.” You were pretty sure someone could cook an egg off your forehead at this point.

 

“Raven! I never said that!” You said as you thrust your fists to your side as the two of then roared with laughter.

 

You knew that she and Sans were teasing you. It was obvious, but it didn’t stop you from becoming so flustered and at such a loss of words. There had to be a reason behind it all and the first thing you could think of was that this was just another way of Raven getting revenge. If only you could catch up, think more clearly, and joke back with them then maybe this wouldn’t be so bad.

 

It also didn’t help that you were worried there was some truth to your embarrassment. With how you had occasionally felt about Sans you didn’t think it would be too far of a stretch. However, those were off of rare feelings and thoughts, not consistent patterns of which you could base something from. Sans was your friend and right now your new friend was helping your roommate in the worst ways possible.

 

“You are _so_ much fun to pick on, sometimes.” Raven said as she ruffled your hair. Playfully, you bit in the direction of her hand. She retracted it, still laughing.

 

“You’re dead to me.” You said, crossing your arms against your chest, half mad and half still flustered.

 

“Well, I couldn’t pass up a chance for some perfect revenge!” Raven said, waving a hand through the air. “Either way, now that you’re here I do need to head back to sleep. It was nice to meet you though, Sans.” Raven held out a hand, which Sans quickly shook. You remained quiet, still a little mad at Raven for her truly flustering jokes.

 

“same.” Sans said. Raven then headed towards her room, leaving you and Sans near the front door. You let out a sigh, glad that Raven’s revenge was finally over.

 

“See you later, Raven.” You gave her a small wave before turning towards the door, about to head towards out.

 

“Oh and by the way!” Raven suddenly called out while standing in her door way. You turned back towards her and immediately became worried due to the sinister grin that was on her face. “Have fun with your new _bone-friend_!” You could hear the strain in her voice as she tried not to laugh.

 

“Lets go, Sans!” You said, again turning your face away from him to hide your once more growing embarrassment.

 

“Don’t get too wild now!”

 

“Goodbye, Raven!” You said through your teeth, as you grabbed the food platter.

 

“Make sure to wear protection!” You suddenly decided that Raven was going to have to suffer when you got home, but for now you needed to make a tactical retreat as quickly as possible.

 

“I’M NOT LISTENING RAVEN.” You yelled as you ran out the door, quickly closing it behind you not realizing that you had left Sans still standing inside of your house until his laughter reached your ears.

 

‘Well,’ you though with a small smile trying to show on your face. ‘at least he’s having fun.’


	32. 12 Vials

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gaster perked up from his place in the fridge. He had been counting the vials of determination he had left. Originally when he had started the determination experiments he had twelve vials. Even with all of the tests he had done he had only gone through maybe 4 vials worth. Now, two had been broken, SID still picking up the small remaining glass pieces.
> 
> After counting, he had 3 more left.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I have a really bad couple of nights, so I heavily apologize for the late post, but since it was mental health related...yeah X(
> 
> Anyway, I really love this chapter and I hope that you all do as well!! I have not been able to actually edit it yet so there will be a LOT more grammar errors in this one, but I don't think I need to make any major story changes so we're all good for now. Also, not able to input the code yet for Sans so I apologize for that but I did still lower case his stuff because thats just what I do though it auto-does it XD
> 
> anyway, hope you all like the chapter and don't forget to comment and kudos!! Later ya'll!!
> 
> Next Update: 5/27/16

_Sans and SID attempted to see if the thief was still in the lab, doing their best to search every spot of the lab. Gaster had remained in the room, watching to see if the thief might come back to attempt to steal more vials. However, after an hour of searching, Sans and SID returned empty handed and Gaster had not seen even a shadow move._

_They all remained in the room, Gaster wanting to organize his experiments of and relating to determination. He wanted to see if there was any further damage he had not noticed before. Sans on the other hand had insisted on staying; just in case the thief came back._

_“ gaster.” Sans said as he flipped through the last few pages of documents Gaster had handed him just a bit earlier. “how did you even /get/ determination?”_

_Gaster perked up from his place in the fridge. He had been counting the vials of determination he had left. Originally when he had started the determination experiments he had twelve vials. Even with all of the tests he had done he had only gone through maybe 4 vials worth. Now, two had been broken, SID still picking up the small remaining glass pieces._

_After counting, he had 3 more left._

_“I am sorry, Sans. Could you please repeat your previous question?”_

_“ well,” Sans said flipping through the papers and he moved closer to Gaster. “i was just wondering how you managed to get ‘determination’. you, uh, wrote right here that you don’t believe a heart naturally made of determination could exist. how on earth did you manage to get /pure/ determination?”_

_“Ah, yes. I forgot to include that information. In the room next to this one is a device of my own. It extracts determination from any living things; even monsters.” Sane grew suddenly quiet and Gaster swore he could feel the room temperature change around him._

_“ don’t tell me you…”_

_“Non-sense, Sans. Most of the determination that I extracted was of my own. Each SOUL, human or monster, has a wide combination of different SOUL types. In humans, their dominate trait will cause it to hold a color. Since there were no other monsters that I knew of that could possibly hold up to the extraction process, I took what I could from myself. Once extracted it replenishes so it was a slow process, but it’s the only way I would be able to continue my experiments.” Sans let out a sigh and visibly relaxed as Gaster closed the door._

_“However, as I mentioned, most came from myself. I did have a single donor as of recently. The King brought in his child, Chara, to see if they may be of some help.”_

_“ so, we’re experimenting on human children now?” Sans said doing his best to sound light hearted and trying to hold in the resentment for the child. Gaster knew it was due to the kid simply being human. However, Sans was willing to accept Gaster as he was, so there had to be hope Sans could befriend the human child as well._

_“No. Not experimenting. Extracting. After many, many test using my own SOUL I was able to find a way to isolate different traits and attributes. Chara’s help was a surprise, even to the King. Apparently, somehow, the child had heard of the efforts to break the barrier and of our attempts to see if there was a way to help the child eventually. They had convinced Asgore to let them donate some of their determination. But, now…” Gaster looked down at the spot where the vials had broken._

_It was clear now, the liquid SOUL removed and gone, but the resent memory played in his mind. Whoever it was that has stole them, it was probably not their first time. For weeks now he had been noticing vials he was using going quickly empty. It had been off-putting, but something could have been just him forgetting that he had used more than he thought he had. He now had hard proof that there was someone sneaking into his lab; it could not be ignored any longer._

_“I will need to increase the security and precautions I have for the determination experiments. Since we do not know who has the vials or what they plan to do with them, we can only assume the worst. Chara is probably in grave danger if the embezzler also knows I was able to extract it from them. Their determination is fairly abundant, easy to be able to pin-point and take it.”_

_“ gaster, your forgetting we have the CORE!” Sans said, hands out and almost pleading with Gaster._

_“Sans, the chances of the CORE actually working are slim as it is. We should not forsake the fate of a child just because there is an unlikely, but possible secondary route.” Gaster frowned. He understood that was he was saying was not something Sans wanted to hear, but it needed to be said. “Chara is our greatest hope in the long run... Sans, I do understand your anger, as I have said before is it not without reason. But, for the betterment of all monsters, it is best that we find the culprit and protect the child.”_

_“ why is it so important, gaster? you said there is plenty of other types to pick from. can’t we just /find/ another type that’s stronger; extract it from the kid and use it instead? If we have the more powerful weapon then problem solved, right?”_

_“Sans, determination /is/ the strongest and hardest to come by.” Gaster placed his hand behind his back, tightly clenching his hands together. He knew this whole time he had been playing with napalm while fire was its more calm and collected cousin. No pure natural form of determination existed, it was kin to the most corrosive chemical he could think of. The more he told Sans, the more he knew the other scientist would realize just how dangerous his experiments really had been._

_“There is no known pure form of it, unless artificially collected. If there even is a SOUL possible of containing that much determination, I would not know what powers said human could begin to possess.”_

_“ and you’re just /injecting it/ into stuff?!” Sans’s voice started to raise in anger that was just barely held back by gritted teeth._

_“Yes and no. Sans, please hear me out.” Gaster pleaded. Sans had his hands balled at his side, watching the much taller scientist. It was after a minute that Sans took a deep breath and moved to sit down on the chair at Gaster’s desk._

_“ alright… go ahead, gas, i’m listening.” Gaster nodded, walking to be closer to Sans so that he didn’t have to speak louder than needed._

_“To explain, the human child cannot break the barrier alone. Same as for the CORE, all that is needed is the equivalent of seven SOULs. Since determination is the strongest it has the higher chances of being turned into an artificial SOUL, or possibly being injected into something to create a fake-soul with enough power to count as one. Or, at least, that is the theory. None of my experiments have been successful.”_

_“I would attempt to use it as a component for the CORE, but preliminary experiments did not result as desired and caused much structural damage at the time. I attempted to use a few other types I had managed to extract, but none were able to hold up to the stress that would be placed on the SOUL magic. The only type that managed to work was the one most present in my own SOUL, perseverance. Ultimately, the CORE would be preferable to having to use Chara as our means of escape; the further the work on the CORE gets the more that I do worry it shall not preform as I had hoped.”_

_“I am going about it as carefully as possible, but the work on the CORE I believe should come first since it will have less of an effect any one or multiple people. That is why I needed you and Alphys. You have been well known for your abilities in the Royal Guard, academic achievements at the capital. Alphys, as you know, is the reason for much of our technological progress. Chara coming here to the underground allowed me the chance to request and enlist both of you to help.”_

_“So, in short. Yes, I have been injecting many things with a SOUL type possibly far more dangerous than I and truly anticipate. However, as the hundreds of years past the more I fear for us all since hope is truly running so thin. Our people’s need is great Sans and ever year that passes it only increases. It is my job as royal scientist to do something; even if it is attempting to weaponize deadly and unknown magic.”_

_Sans was quiet save for the tapping of his fingers against the desk. He wasn’t looking at Gaster, instead taking to staring at the papers littering the desk’s surface. Most of the paper work Sans had yet to read included that; the papers Gaster previously giving Sans only relating to the CORE and the potential use of the SOUL type, perseverance. Without much warning Sans started to riffle through the papers on the desk, giving each one a quick glance and separating them into different piles._

_“Sans, what are you doing?”_

_“ what you gave isn’t all of it, right?”_

_“All of what, Sans?”_

_“ the info, docs, data. all the stuff relating to the CORE and this SOUL type stuff.” Gaster was taken a bit aback, feeling unsteady as to the reasons Sans might be asking for that said information. He wondered what Sans would think of the other information he had gathered. Hundreds of years worth of data slowly collected from the tiny break through in his dark quiet lab._

_“I have it stored in many places, Sans. But, I do require that I know for what purposes you would like to know this information.”_

_“ thought you said you didn’t hide anything from us, gas.” Sans said giving Gaster a wink and a smile. Gaster blinked a few times, not quite sure what this sudden change in Sans necessarily was._

_“I do not, as far as aspects of myself. However, Sans you should be able to understand that this information can be quite-“_

_“ dangerous. yeah, i kinda got that when someone decided to steal your shit. you’ve been doing this on your own though this whole time, right? well, if me and alphys are gonna help ya we’re going to need to understand /everything/. this ain’t a bar, you can’t just water down the information and think it will be passable. i saw your SOUL, i know you’ve got good intentions. so, uh, i’m gonna try trusting you a bit more. so, tell me what we’re up against here?”_

_Gaster was at first taken aback by Sans. He was still not used to the sway of the skeleton. Gaster had requested his help from the start, and now that Sans was willing to stay it would seem foolish if Gaster didn’t accept._

_“Sans, you are correct. I am sorry for my reluctance.”_

_“ no /skin/ off my back gaster.” Gaster groaned at Sans’s pun._

_“Sans, this is not the first time of which you have told that joke; and it does not become funnier with each telling.”_

_“ you just don’t have a /nose/ for comedy, gaster.”_

_“While it is a true fact that I do not possess a nose in the traditional sense, neither do you, Sans. Thus it would serve to say your opinion on comedy is thus flawed as well.” Gaster crossed his arms, striking an almost triumphant pose. “See, you are not the only one that can tell a joke, Sans.”_

_“ i don’t really /ear/ anything funny about that one, gaster.” Sans smirked at Gaster. Gaster did his best trying to keep the smile from coming to his lips, refusing to give him any satisfaction._

_“Then maybe you simply do not get my jokes, Sans.” Gaster then motioned for Sans to follow him as he started heading back down the hall. “Come, the information that you will require is not here. Typically I keep it in another part of the lab, if you follow me I would be glad to show you.” Without a word Sans rose and walked beside the far taller scientist._

_“ sure. but, gaster, I’m gonna have to disagree with you on that first part. i’ve got a pretty good /eye/ for comedy.”_

_“Now you are just torturing me, Sans.”_

_“ hey, gaster, I have one final question.” Sans said, stopping with Gaster following suit._

_“Sans, if this question leads to a pun, so help me.”_

_“ naw, i’m being serious here.” Gaster eyed Sans suspiciously, watching him to see if he could notice any hidden smirking or held back chuckles._

_“Alright. What is your question, Sans.”_

_“ well, i showed you my secret. so now show me yours.”_

_Gaster felt as if a cold bucket of ice had been poured over him. He had mentioned his powers once, /maybe/ twice if he judged himself to be horrible at keeping secrets. It wasn’t something that pertained to their work and was purely personal in that matter. Gaster was not sure as to how Sans came to remember to even ask such a question._

_“I am not sure what you mean, Sans.”_

_“ come on, gas. this is the exact reason we are even down here in the first place! or, did you already forget how you reacted after seeing miss muffet?” Gaster wasn’t sure if he should let out a sigh of relief or if he should find some way to ditch Sans now before he started trying to find out more about his love life._

_“I have no idea what you mean, Sans.”_

_“ oh, so going blind to everything around you, draped over your coworker, reciting what sounded like love poems is /normal/ for you?” Sans said as he raised an eyebrow, waiting for a response. Gaster let out a defeated sigh; his actions were indeed not something easily missed. Perhaps though he might be able to deflect Sans’s need for answers in another way._

_“Well, Sans, over the very many years of which I have done SOUL experiments and lived with half of a human SOUL I found it sometimes to be a but… /trying/ to keep completely controlled.” Sans frowned at Gaster words, blinking a few times as he tried to understand what Gaster was saying. Gaster moved his hand back behind him, interlacing them tightly to himself some resemblance of emotional support._

_“When my emotions become too great my monster and human SOUL will have strong reactions that are typically out of my own control. What you witnessed was simply one such occasion. Now if you follow me.” Gaster didn’t look back to Sans as he turned around and started back down the hallway. However, after only hearing his own movements echoing through the room he turned back to Sans._

_“Sa-” Gaster stopped midway, a chill running down his back at the look Sans had on his face. He didn’t know that Sans would have a smile that /wide/ on his face nor did he think the skeleton’s eyes could turn into literal stars._

_“ gee, gaster, I didn’t know you had a /girlfriend/!”_

_“Sans, she is not my-“_

_“ but she /should/ be! i should have been able to tell just because you offered to go there in the first place.”_

_“I am not sure that I follow you, Sans.”_

_“ oh, i’m pretty sure you do, ya love monster you.” Sans closed his eyes, keeping the huge smile on his face as he started to rock back and forth on his heels. “i was wondering why anyone would be willing to spend 9999g on a couple of spider donuts. but, hey, in the face of love that is a small price.”_

_“I will have you know, Sans, that I just believe in supporting our local spider community. They are monsters much smaller than us and deserve to have homes as well. do you know how many spiders there are in the underground alone? If you take your highest guess that still probably wouldn’t be enough. Miss Muffet goes out of her way to try and bring homes to all of those spiders. It is a good and noble cause and I think it should be one that you support as well.” Sans stopped rocking on his feet and instead gazed at Gaster with a single eyebrow lifted._

_“ geez, you got it worse than i thought.”_

_“Sans, you are completely wrong in your assumption and will again reaffirm that I am just doing what I can for my fellow monster.”_

_“ okay, so how often do you buy something from the bake sale?”_

_“I do not see how this is of any importance.” Gaster said, crossing his arms. Sans just waited patiently, hands stuck in his pockets and a coy smile on his face. “Fine. I shall indulge you. I visit possibly once a week.” The lights in Sans’s eyes went out at Gaster’s statement. Slowly, Sans spoke his next question._

_“ how do you /afford/ going there once a /week/?”_

_“I. Well, that is to say I try to. I usually can if I am able to sell enough patents each week with new inventions. That and sometimes the King sends a bit of extra grant money for food supplies. However, it is of no importance what I do with my gold.”_

_Sans was still quiet and instead took a few steps towards Gaster. Gaster swallowed as he felt his body become uncomfortable at the sudden closeness of Sans. The small skeleton motioned for Gaster to come closer to him, to which Gaster leaned down to Sans’s level. Once there, Sans placed a heavy hand upon Gaster’s shoulder._

_“ gaster, buddy, i promise you that in a month i’ll get you a date with miss muffet. someone has to save your wallet.” Gaster scoffed at Sans, quickly prying himself from the skeletons grasp and stomped down the hall. Sans let out a bellowing laugh as he caught up to Gaster._

_“You will do no such thing, Sans. I do not have romantic feelings for Miss Muffet. I have a love for science and science alone. You could say I am /very/ into science and most certainly not into a specific bake sale spider.”_

_“ hehehe, gaster and muffet sitting in a tree.~” Sans sang out as he walked beside Gaster’s quick pace, the song causing Gaster let out a frustrated groan._

_“Remind me to /never/ buy you anything from the bake sale /again/.”_

_“ whatever you say, gas.”_


	33. Roadtrip

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Sorry, Sans.” You said as you came back inside, watching the ground in order to avoid Sans’s gaze. He was still laughing at the whole thing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone!
> 
> Sorry that I am again late again, it's been rough BUT i'm going better and thats what matters!!
> 
> I haven't edited this chapter but at least I have the code in for Sans and that's a great first step!
> 
> Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this new update, there's some pretty fun things ahead!
> 
> Next Update: 5/30/16

“Sorry, Sans.” You said as you came back inside, watching the ground in order to avoid Sans’s gaze. He was _still_ laughing at the whole thing.

 

You made a mental note that, at some point down the road, you were going to have to get him back. You also remarked to yourself that you had late made a lot of mental notes and not followed through many. You brushed the thought to the side; it was okay for you to forget things from time to time.

 

“We better get going, the party is gonna start soon.”

 

“hehehe, alright.” Sans said as he did his best to quell his laughter. “just gimmie a sec.” He reached behind his head pulling his hoodie over his head as far as he could so that it was overhanging a bit in front of his vision. Next he took his shirt, smoothing it out a bit, making sure that no other parts of his body was showing. “okay, ready.”

 

“That’s your disguise?”

 

“yep.” He said, offering no other explanation. You rolled your eyes. As much as you wanted to care, all you wanted right now was a hole to crawl into until your face had returned to normal. Having to deal with Sans’s bad disguise was not something you were wanting to worry about right now.

 

“Okay, well, no time like the present then.” You gave Sans a little smile, holding open the door for him as you both headed outside.

 

As he walked past you could hardly see his eyes and from his movement he really just looked more like a overly pale human. It was only if you paid attention that you could really see that Sans was indeed a skeleton. A small weight lifted at the thought that Sans’s slight change might actually work.

 

You were also very glad that your apartment complex was typically void of many people walking around. It made getting to the car and getting on the road a whole lot easier.

 

“So,” You said, breaking the silence of the car as you turned onto the main road heading towards the highway. “what did my roommate tell you?”

 

“nothing much really. she, uh, was a little freaked out about a skeleton showing up at her front door though.”

 

“Oh, right. Sorry about that… I thought you were going to be a bit later.”

 

“s’okay.” Sans said, though you felt that it wasn’t really the explanation of why he was early that you had been hoping for. “’sides, i got to hear some great stories while you were gone.” Your grip tightened on the wheel as you drove. You could already feel your palms start to sweat at the idea of what stories Raven could have told Sans while you were gone for less than an hour.

 

“Oh geez, what did she tell you?!” You asked in a panic.

 

“oh, nothing much.” Sans said as he reclined his seat back so that he was laying down, making sure to keep his hood still handing over his head.

 

You were starting to wonder if she had really told him anything, or if maybe he was toying with you. Well, you had managed to calm down enough now that two could play at that game.

 

“Oh well, I suppose that makes up even then.” You did your best to keep your smile from turning wicked. Sans suddenly jerked back up to a sitting position at your words.

 

“what do you mean?”

 

“Oh well, when I was at your place Papyrus told me a few stories about you as well! So, since my roommate told you stories, it makes us even.”

 

“hehe.” Sans laughed, relaxing back into a laying position in the seat. “you had me worried for a bit.”

 

“Why is that?”

 

“well, you never had a chance to swap stories with paps.”

 

“Oh really? Well, you remember when you went to help Toriel in the kitchen?” You couldn’t help the coy smirk that was now evident on your face. You were bullshitting, and you bet Sans could smell it. However, Sans actually had left you and Papyrus alone for some time then. It was enough to cast doubt and that was all you wanted.

 

“what’d he tell ya?”

 

“Oh, ya know, nothing much.” You said as you turned off of the highway and onto the small street that would lead towards the base of the mountain.

 

“hehe… gatta hand it to ya, you had me going there.” Sans said, as he placed an arm over his eyes. You let out a small laugh, slightly sad that he saw through your charade so quickly; yet glad at the same time since lying was something you hated to do anyways.

 

“Well, I had to at least try to get you back. But really, what stories did she tell you? Please tell me they weren’t not all that embarrassing…”

 

“well, she didn’t have time for much, but she told me about the one where you got a little too drunk at a party and spent the night talking to ‘ghosts’.”

 

You groaned loudly and if you were not driving you would have covered your face. Of course she had to tell him that one; it was only the single most embarrassing thing to ever happen. Sure, it was hilarious now looking back on it, but it didn’t change that Sans was someone you were still getting to know. You knew you were a strange person and that wasn’t going to change, but you at least wanted Sans to like you first before deciding you were too strange to get to know.

 

“Why did she had to tell you that one.”

 

“i donno, perhaps she thought it wouldn’t _phase_ you. ”

 

“That was a ghost pun, huh?”

 

“yep.”

 

“I’m totally off my game today, huh?”

 

“yep. ‘sokay though, _tibia_ honest everyone has a bad pun day every now and then. ”

 

“Even you?” You said sarcastically.

 

“nope. i’m the _outlying variable_. ”

 

“Oh, a skeleton being _super-natural_? Big surprise.” You said as you stuck your tongue out at Sans which chuckled in response. “So, Sans, where are we heading next?” You asked as you both started to approach the mountain and the paved road turned to rocky, well-traveled dirt.

 

“uh, lemme see.” Sans said as he rearranged his seat back into a sitting position, taking a quick glance around at where you both were. “alright, just keep going and head towards campsite #B4.”

 

“If it was a campsite you’re going to have me park at I could totally have just met you there, you know.” You flashed Sans a smile as he arranged his seat back into a laying position, absently waving a hand at you.

 

“naw, not a campsite but somewhere near it.”

 

“Eh, alright then.” You said with a shrug. Absently, you hoped that Sans wasn’t going to get you lost or something. Though he more than likely knew the forest and the mountain areas better than you; the memory of being lost was still very fresh in your mind.

 

The space between you and Sans slowly started to feel awkward the longer you drove without speaking. It was probably you and you alone since it looked like Sans was practically about to fall asleep; if he hadn’t already. You wanted to speak with him about something, anything really, just to be able to dispel the off feeling that came with the silence. Eventually, you settled on asking him a few more questions about Flowey.

 

“Hey, uh, so Sans… Mind if I ask you a couple of questions?”

 

“fire away.”

 

“Well, it’s something that’s kinda bothered me for a while.”

 

“oh?” Sans said, but remained unmoved from his spot.

 

“Well, the little girl from yesterday, she’d been missing for a week right? Yet, when I got there Flowey was just _taking_ her SOUL. Is... is that what happens every time?”

 

“well, uh, sadly we haven’t really been there for her SOUL taking before, but frisk was able to find out once that it was flowey who had originally kidnapped the poor girl.”

 

“So then why wait a week?”

 

“if he’s doing anything like the other’s, he was waiting for them to give him their SOUL’s willingly. a SOUL has less control if its given rather than taken. so, uh, it might not seem like it, but just you being there probably forced flowey to move quicker than he wanted. its not a big step, but its still a step in the right direction.”

 

“Why would anyone _want_ to give up their SOUL?” Sans grunted as he shrugged his shoulders from his resting place.

 

“beats me.”

 

“Oh. Hey, Sans, we’re near that campsite. Where to now?”

 

You didn’t have a chance to ask more questions of Sans, instead you had to focus on the directions he started giving you. He had you go down a small pathway that looked as if it hadn’t been traveled in years. The trees were cleared away enough for a car to get through, but where the path would normally be there was just tall grass and a few small saplings sprouting about the edges.

 

Eventually, after several minutes of Sans lazily directing you, you came to the end of the pathway and to a small circular area that might have once been an off-side camping site. You parked the car and got out, making sure to grab the food. Sans soon followed after, slowly getting out of the car groggily.

 

“so,” Sans said as he stretched his arms a bit. “ya ready?”

 

“I think so.” You nodded as you rubbed the side of your arm. Truth be told you were not ready and never would you be ready for the sudden wave of motion sickness that came with Sans’s ‘magic’. But, it would be a small price to pay for you to be able to get up and inside of the underground without wasting hours’ worth of time to get there.

 

Sans gave a yawn as he moved over to your side of the car, stretching a second time. He didn’t seem to have fallen asleep, but you figured that he possibly didn’t get the best of sleep the night before. You wanted to ask, but you tossed the idea out figuring that he probably wasn’t going to tell you anyway.

 

“alright, lets go.” He said, placing a hand on your shoulder and the world quickly spinning into a whirlwind of colors as the world moved about you.

 

When you both came to a stop you found yourself back in Hotlands, surrounded by unbearable heat and lava, standing in front of the building labeled ‘LAB’. Your body swam with slight vertigo, but it was the lightest that you had felt of it so far. You were fairly sure now that it was definitely a ‘getting used to’ type thing now; that or it could have been just the distances. Either way, you were glad you just didn’t have to wrestle with yourself to keep the contents of your stomach down.

 

“how ya feelin’?”

 

“Okay, actually. I think it is really just something I need to get used to.”

 

“hehe, good to hear. oh, by the way, if anyone asks we walked here. okay?” You nodded at Sans who smiled and gave you a quick thumbs up. “lets head in then.” He said as he headed towards the front door of the ‘lab’.

 

You had long ago figured out that whatever Sans was doing he didn’t want anyone else knowing, so his request came as no surprise. You didn’t really care, not for a lack of worry or anything about Sans and all the secrets he held, but rather that it was just something that was apart of Sans. Sans kept secrets and though there was nothing more that you wanted to do then to dig up and discover all of those secrets, you still accepted him as he was.

 

You could feel something stir and warm in your heart, to which caused you to panic mentally. You pulled your mind out of the gutter and started telling yourself that you already had this discussion. That you didn’t need these feelings about anyone. The feeling quickly left but you could feel the hole it made in your heart. You ran a hand through your hair, reaffirming to yourself that later you could feel lonely; right now was a time for new friends and anime.

 

“you commin’?”

 

“Oh, yeah. Sorry.” You said as you jogged up to meet him.

 

When you finally got up beside him, he knocked on the door. He waited, rocking back and forth on the heels of his feet with his eyes closed. It didn’t take long for the door to slide open allowing you access to the lab. You would have walked in, if not for the daunting figure standing in the doorway.

 

“Hey-ya, Sans.” If the figure of the person didn’t give away who it was the lower feminine voice did. It was Undyne who had answered, giving Sans a wide toothy grin. “Took your sweet time, didn’t ya?”

 

“i, uh, had to pick up my friend here.”

 

“Oh… right.” If words could be acid you would probably be melting right about now.

 

“I, um, brought food?” You said with your voice shaking holding out the platter to Undyne, attempting to offer it as some semblance of peace. Food, no matter where, was a universal language that anyone could speak. You just hoped that Undyne would be willing to accept it.

 

“Awe, sweet! _Food!_ ” She quickly took the plate from you, beaming and nearly drooling over the platter. She paused for a moment, her smile falling as she looked back and forth between you and Sans. Her face returned to a scowl as she glared at you. “Just because you brought food does not mean you’re a good _human_. I don’t care _what_ Sans says. Now, get in here before I turn you into tem flakes.”

 

Undyne left the doorway, leaving the door open for you and Sans to enter through. You didn’t know if anime was a good idea anymore. Your mouth had gone dry and your body was shaking. You were not sure, but for some reason you had this unshakable feeling that given the chance Undyne would follow through on her word. You wanted to stay as you were and definitely not become tem flakes, whatever they were.

 

“hehe, i think she likes you.”

 

You stared at Sans, mouth agape. How on earth could he think someone who just gave you a very confusing death threat would actually _like_ you? Maybe he was sleepier than you thought because Undyne with her sharp teeth and extremely muscular body was in no way sending you any kind of ‘friendliness’ vibes. Before you could argue though Sans entered the building, leaving you standing outside just to stare at the open door.


	34. Digital Communications

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frisk nodded as you started to dig in your pockets pulling out the phone. You unlocked it and handed it to Frisk who started frantically flipping through things on the phone. You both had just reached the top of the escalators when Frisk held your phone out, showing you what was on the screen, the light illuminating their face. Frisk had found your note pad and managed to write out a small message.
> 
> [We need to talk]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this is really late, but I did get the editing done and I'm happier with this chapter now then I was before! Also, Friday's update will still happen, but it will be sometime during tomorrow instead of at midnight tonight.
> 
> I hope you enjoy this chapter, though to be honest most of the ones from tomorrow onward are my favs! I hope you all enjoy! Sorry for the wait!
> 
> Next Update: 6/3/16 12:00 pm MST

Eventually, you convinced yourself that it was probably much cooler inside than standing out near the lava river where you were. You entered into the building, finding yourself in an almost blindingly lit and pure white lab like area. Up ahead Sans had already joined the others standing about what looked to be a large desk covered partially in food, but mostly in stacks of papers, anime boxes, anime figures, and empty ramen cups. It was next to an over-sized computer that had probably the largest screen you had ever seen. In front of the computer there was a floating blue couch and a matching set of gladly non-floating chairs set up in front of the huge LED screen.

Undyne placed the plater you brought on the desk as Alphys was clearing away some of the stuff to make more room. Sans was ruffling Frisk’s hair as Papyrus yelled at Sans for his mistreatment of Frisk’s beautiful locks.

“O-oh!” Alphys said as several anime boxes came tumbling out of her arms.

You ran over to Alphys and started helping her pick up some of the anime boxes along with Sans.

"Let me help you with that."

"T-thanks." Alphys said as she cast her eyes towards the ground. "S-so, h-how are you feeling?"

"Huh?" you paused for a moment as you grabbed a very pink DVD box labeled as 'Mew Mew Kissy Cutie: Vol. 5'. It took you a moment to realize that Alphys was referring to when you were at Sans and Papyrus's place being sick on their couch. You could feel your face become flush at realizing that was the first thing she remembered about you.

"Oh, um, I'm still a bit sore, but I'm doing much better. Thank you." you gave her a warm smile despite your embarrassment.

"YES! SANS AND I PREFORMED SPECTACULARLY IN HELPING THE HUMAN RECOVER TO WHERE THEY REQUESTED TO BECOME ONE OF MY MANY FRIENDS! OH, AND SANS'S FRIEND AS WELL." Papyrus bellowed out as he came from behind you, carrying a large bowl of spaghetti.

"Papyrus, you can't just go _befriending_ every human you see. You can't _trust_ them." Undyne said with her arms crossed glaring at you from the side of the table as you finished helping Alphys pick up the last few anime's. You watched as Frisk moved beside her and tugged at the edge of her shirt, their cheeks puffed out and lips pinched together. Her face softened and instead spread into a toothy smile. She picked up the child placing them on her shoulders as she moved towards where the couch and chairs were.

"Except for Frisk and only Frisk, cause they're one of my besties. Right?" Frisk giggled and signed something to Undyne as she threw a fist into the air. "Yeah! Besties forever! Now, let me show you how to suplex the couch!"

"Undyne, n-no!" Alphys called out, but before she could attempt to stop her Undyne already was holding the couch high over her head as Frisk clapped by the sidelines. "O-okay, just please d-don't break it!"

"Don't worry Alpy, I got this." Undyne called back just before she threw the couch up into the air a few feet. She caught it and then she placed the couch back down, giving Frisk instructions on how to properly lift.

You wanted to laugh at the antics of Undyne and Frisk, but the words Undyne had said left a bitter taste. You believed yourself to be trust worthy and kind and a bunch of other stuff. However, if there was anything you knew from being human was that Undyne was not wrong; at least for some people. It was like trying to navigate a boat through fog in shallow water; you could never be sure where there was going to be a rock that might cause your boat to sink and when you realized there was it was usually too late.

"U-undyne really isn't s-so bad." Alphys said, placing the small stack of anime she held back on the table. You and Sans added to the pile with the ones you held.

"WHAT ALPHYS SAYS IS CORRECT. I AM SURE THAT GIVEN TIME YOU AND UNDYNE WILL BECOME BESTIES, JUST AS FRISK HAS! THIS IS WHAT WILL HAPPEN SINCE THE GREAT PAPYRUS IS NEVER WRONG!" Papyrus said as he moved a few things around on the table so that he would be able to place his spaghetti down. Behind him you could see Undyne glaring at him.

"I, uh.." you sputtered over your words, not truly knowing what to respond with. You realized there was no good response, at least not right now. You decided a diversion was the best choice instead. "I think it's probably time we started watching some anime! I mean, it's what we can't here for, right?" you could feel a drop of sweat make it's way down the side of your cheek.

"YES, LET US WATCH SOME HUMAN HISTORY IN ACTION!" Papyrus said as he scampered over to Undyne as Frisk was still attempting, and failing, to lift the couch.

"T-they are not a-actually _historical_ , Papyrus!" Alphys called out as her face started to flush.

"Historical?"

"No. I-it's just, um..."

"paps was, uh, a bit misinformed before was all."

"Oh, I see." You said with a small forced chuckle, more confused than actually finding anything funny. "How... did that even happen?"

"eh, no idea. tried to correct him but he's kinda dead set on it now. anyway, what are we watching tonight, alphys?"

"Oh!" Alphys suddenly started to dig into one of the piles on the table, pulling out one of the boxes with a bright smile on her face.

"I-was-thinking-that-we-could-watch-'Mew-Mew-Kissy-Cutie-S:-First-Kiss'-since-it's-the-first-movie-and-one-of-my-all-time-favorites.-The-story-is-about-"

From there you were not sure what Alphys said her vocal's sped up to a point of which you were unable to understand necessarily what she was saying. You knew she said something about a villain that wasn't really a villain, someone dying, friendship being magic, and some kind of end of the world scenario. You were a bit glad since it sounded like she was possibly giving away the whole story line.

"Oh-geez-I-spoiled-the-story.-Well,-either-way-we-should-still-see-it-because-its-my-favorite-movie.-I'm-gonna-go-put-it-on-so-we-can-start-watching-it-now!”

"Sans... Did you catch any of that?" you asked him as Alphys quickly wondered off towards the others near the couch.

"not a word." you let out a sigh, slightly relieved that you were not the only one who didn't hear her.

"Well, at least the movie will still be a surprise?" you said as you started to head over towards the couch. Papyrus and Undyne were talking about something with Frisk as Alphys was fiddling with the over sized computer trying to insert the disk.

"uh, yeah. right." Sans's voice was monotone and low.

You raised an eyebrow as you watched him curiously. You were sure you saw a slight twitch his his smile, but it had happened so quick that it could have been you just seeing things. You were about to ask when Undyne came speeding by, causing you to flinch as she whipped around the edge of the couch with Frisk chasing her from behind.

Once after the shock of nearly being bulldozed over by the extremely strong monster you turned back to face Sans. However, somehow in the matter of seconds that you had turned your head away Sans had moved and was now lounging on the couch.

"SANS, YOU SHOULDN'T TAKE UP SO MUCH OF THE COUCH!"

"but no one's using it."

"NOT YET! WE ARE ALL STILL WAITING FOR THE SHOW TO BE READY!"

"finder's keeper's bro."

"SANS!"

"I-its okay Papyrus." Alphys suddenly interjected. "I h-have a solution. O-one moment."

Alphys moved to the back of the couch flipping open a panel that you hadn't noticed previously. Inside were several flashing lights, buttons, and small switches which she pressed and flipped. After pressing one final button she took a few steps back and watched as the couch started to morph.

The blue plush looking couch started to form perfectly straight lines across its surface and began to pull apart in equal sections. As it separated, the empty spaces it made quickly filled with more of the blue material that composed the couch. It was extending and twisting slightly to turn into more of a circular curved form then the normal straight appearance you were used to seeing in a couch.

All the while Sans remained on it looking as if he was completely asleep.

"That was amazing!" you said, bursting with excitement over the fact that Alphys had a morphing couch. "How did you get it to do that? I mean, I don't know crap about machines, but this is just _way_ too cool!" You moved over to the side closest to you, inspecting the areas you had seen it add. The couch was actually incredibly soft to the touch despite how sure you were the entire thing was completely mechanical. You could heard the click of the panel in the back as Alphys closed it.

"I-it's nothing really. J-just a old p-project of mine. I made it a-as a bed o-originally; t-then made a few m-modifications." Alphys said as she rubbed her hands together and seemed to almost be shaking. Her words were forced, but unmistakably friendly.

"Your skills are unparalleled, Alphys!"

"As much as I don't want to, the human is right." Undyne said as she came up behind Alphys, draping both of her arms around her neck. "Besides..." You couldn't hear what Undyne said next, but whatever it was it caused Alphys's face to quickly turn a bright beet-red.

"U-u-undyne!" the smaller monster squealed, wiggling in Undyne's arms unable to get free. Undyne beamed, pleased with herself, right before she lifted Alphys completely over her head.

"Enough with the mushy stuff, lets watch some shows!" she leaned over and placed Alphys on the couch, apparently with enough force to startle Sans causing him to snort awake.

Papyrus gave out a loud laugh as he picked up Frisk and brought them to the couch, loudly proclaiming his agreement. They took a seat next to Undyne taking up what looked to be the last of the space on the couch as Alphys fiddled with what looked like a remote causing the lights to dim and the movie to start playing.

You rubbed the back of your arm as you moved behind the couch heading towards one of the chairs. You knew that you were pretty much an extra wheel in their little friendship circle, but you couldn't help wanting to be apart of it. You let out a sigh and reminded yourself that friendship, if it came, would come in time. For now you did your best to ignore the twisting pain you felt in your chest and did your best not to push your way into anything.

You took the chair to the far left of the screen. It was the same blue as the couch but was a lot harder and reminded you of a older styled kitchen table chair than anything. You spun it around so that you could lean on the back of it as you straddled the base.

"psst." You looked over to your right to see Sans waving you over. He still had a good amount of the couch, mostly from having laid down and fallen asleep moment ago. He had moved over, making just enough room for you to come and join everyone on the couch. Your heart swelled and you could feel the budding loneliness start to ebb as you quickly pulled yourself off the chair and sat next to Sans.

"Thanks." You whispered to him as the opening of the movie played. He nodded before turning back to the movie.

For the next while you watched the magical-girl anime Alphys had picked, reading the subtitles with practiced ease. Occasionally the others would get up from the couch grabbing some food from the table and other times you could hear Undyne give a loud battle-like cry at the start of each fight. It was about half way through the movie when you felt a tug on your shirt sleeve. You looked over to your side to find Frisk being the culprit.

"Hey, what's up, Frisk?" You whispered as Sans leaned forward trying to see who you were talking with. Frisk frowned slightly and tugged on your shirt again, signing something with their other hand.

"they, uh, want you to help them with the bathroom." Sans said with a slight chuckle. Frisk signed a few more things to Sans as their tugging became more frequent. "they said its too dark for them on their own. oh, and they also wanted me to let you know you they're a fart-face." You chuckled and gave Frisk a nod as they scowled at Sans.

"Sure, as long as you know where it is. Besides I could use a break myself." You whispered to Frisk as they beamed at you, signing what you suspected was a thank you. You got up from the couch as quietly as you could.

"Whoa." The moment you were up Frisk quickly grabbed your hand and started pulling you towards the back of the lab. You managed to not trip over your feet as Frisk dragged you along.

It had made sense that Frisk, being a kid and all, would be afraid of the dark at least in some sense. You didn't quite believe that to be true now that they were dragging you about through the pitch black lab only light by the bright colors of the computer screen. You passed what you assumed was the bathroom coming to the base of an escalator that Frisk pulled you onto.

"Frisk, where are we going?" Frisk signed to you, but you were unable to understand them. "I... I'm sorry Frisk. I don't understand what you're saying."

They started to make a few hand motions as if they were pushing buttons on something and then holding it to their ear which was pretty easy to guess that they were wanting a phone.

"You, uh... want my phone?"

Frisk nodded as you started to dig in your pockets pulling out the phone. You unlocked it and handed it to Frisk who started frantically flipping through things on the phone. You both had just reached the top of the escalators when Frisk held your phone out, showing you what was on the screen, the light illuminating their face. Frisk had found your note pad and managed to write out a small message.

[We need to talk]

You blinked a few times as you stared at the message. It would have made you laugh if not for the serious look on Frisk's face.

"Sure, about what though?" They pulled the phone back and started typing as quickly as their fingers would let them. Frisk didn’t take long creating their message soon flashing the screen back to you so that you could read it.

[Sans told me what happened yesterday]

[Is it true? Did you really fight Flowey?]

"Well, I wouldn't consider it fighting..." You said as you rubbed the back of your neck. "More like, trying to stop him and instead, um... failing to do anything."

[And he had use of his vines right? He wasn’t just using pellets?]

"Pellets? Um, well, he had vines for sure, but I didn’t see him use any ‘pellets’.”

Frisk nodded and was about to type again, but instead stopped and started to pace about.

"Um, Frisk? Sans already told you what happened so why ask me?"

Frisk looked at you, pausing for a moment before removing their gaze from you to instead stare at the floor.

"Sorry, I just don't understand. But, if you tell me then maybe I can help with what you're wanting to know?"

Frisk looked back to you. You couldn't quite read their expression, yet it was far from being emotionless. It was something deep and dark, whatever it was. After a moment Frisk pulled the phone back out and started typing again.

[Flowey isn’t supposed to be able to use his vines and since he kidnaps alexis right at the start of each reset that means he has a soul from before this newest stop and if its who I think it is then it would be why I don’t have full control of the timeline anymore.]

"Frisk, I hope its okay I ask but, how are you even controlling the time lines?"

[Sans told me it's because of my soul type, but I've never really known how I've done it, I just do it]

"Huh..." SOUL Types was something Sans had definitely mentioned before, but from what you recalled he didn't really explain much on them. Maybe he didn't know or maybe he wasn't telling you. Either way, it was something you would try to talk to him about later. You waited as Frisk typed frantically on your phone.

[I can feel my abilities slipping.]

[Most of the resets have been done once we got above ground and I thought I could fight and everyone could finally be happy and stay above ground, but I can’t and if I can’t no one can] You could see Frisk starting to shake. You bent down close to them, placing a hand on their shoulder, giving them your best reassuring smile.

"Hey, whatever it is you have lots of people who can help; including me. We’ll figure out someway of stopping Flowey, I promise.” Frisk shook their head, still shaking as they typed their response.

[It’s not flowey there is no way flowey would be able to have hold of the timeline anymore]

You tilted your head in confusion. Sans had told you Flowey was the one doing all of this. All the damage and death that was supposed to come at the end of the next few months was all from him. You searched your mind trying to think of who Frisk could be possibly referring to; but you came up empty handed.

“Who else could it be then?” You asked. Frisked remained completely still just staring at your phone’s screen. “There isn’t anyone else, right? I saw Flowey take that girl’s SOUL, there wasn’t anyone else around. It-“ You stopped mid-sentence as Frisk thrust your phone at you shaking so bad they were almost vibrating. “Oh my, Frisk! You okay?”

You took the phone, not yet reading what it yet and instead offered a hug to Frisk. They didn’t even hesitate, quickly wrapping their small arms around you as their body quivering and occasionally jerk with held back sobs. You were not sure what had Frisk so wound up; or what could be scarier than a flower with Godlike powers. You held Frisk tightly with one arm as you tilted the phone up so that you could see the note Frisk had written moment before.

[It’s Chara, it has to be Chara.]


	35. The Main Character's Aren't Always Nice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "So, what do you want your name to be?"
> 
> You blinked a few times, your brain starting to buzz with questions and ideas. How would one even go about picking a name? It was never a concept you had even thought about before or what even could constitute as a name. You knew the names of everyone in the ward; John, Gina, Albert, Mark, Jeanette, Felix, and the list went on. But, what name was yours?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *WARNING*  
> Implied Drug Use, Drug Addiction, Violent Tendencies
> 
> Hey everyone!! I know that I wanted to get this sooner and I'm super behind posting but it seems that my mind is not wanting me to post twice a week. I'm gonna take the advice of a good friend (*hugs Jacklv*) and take a small break, and by that I mean posting only once a week in a more manageable and less stressful pace for myself. 
> 
> Anyway!! I'm very excited because this chapter and reveal even more about Chara! I will hopefully post another chapter come Friday to make up for not posting another next week but if I don't then the next update will be Friday of next week.
> 
> Thank you all for sticking around so long with me and bearing with my suddenly messed up schedule but I plan to get back on track and so things will be better I promise!
> 
> Next Update: 6/17/16

_You were surprised how long it took your body to heal, but the bigger shock to you was how little you really knew about the world you were now in. You had been trapped in that backyard for so long it felt as if you had been moved to a brand new dimension. It was thrilling._

 

_You had come to learn that you were in a place called a 'hospital', that you had various 'Nurses' and 'Doctors' looking after you. Also, through the use of fake tears and pleas, you learned that apparently you had no record of existing before now. No 'Birth Certificate', no 'ID's', nothing. Because of your arm and the situation with your mother, they decided to keep you at the hospital for observation; whatever any of that actually meant._

 

_You were fine with whatever they did; here you were in control. It wasn't as good as when you held the very life of something in your hand and crushed it into non-existence, but it was close. You enjoyed the other kids in the ward, especially since they were all terrified of you. They were the easiest to manipulate, control, and allowed you to eventually become the hidden leader of the ward. Anything you wanted they would willingly give, otherwise you would make sure they reaped punishment._

 

_The Nurses were a bit harder, but it didn't take long for you to figure out that if you played as if you could do nothing wrong they believed that you couldn't. You became their little angel of the ward and when your arm started to get better you would occasionally offer to do small favors for them._

 

_Jeanette was your favorite though, she was harsh on the other kids like she had been with you at the start. This fake love and care she gave you saw for what it really was; silent dominance and forced authority. You hated her at first for it, wanting to control you and force you to her will. The moment you figured out how to turn the tides of her unspoken war, she fell hard. You relished in your victory over her for days._

 

_All you had to do now was whine a little bit more than normal and she would give you a little bit extra of your 'medicine'. You enjoyed it, it placed you in a calm you could never reach on your own. Your mind without it was like angry bees, constantly moving and furious at the world. With it, you could relax and think; whatever was in those vials was some kind of godly dew and using Jeanette you could have it any time you wanted._

 

_There was one other thing you were grateful for with Jeanette. It was while you were still bed ridden. They had finally taken most of the forsaken belts off of you once you could show that you would 'cooperate'. You have been introduced to things like 'toys' and 'blocks'; child's play things for most your age. Jeanette however introduced you to something that you revered above all of other objects, 'books'._

 

_Because of your eyesight you couldn't really see the words unless the book was extremely close to your face. It also didn't help that you had never learned to read. However, everything about a book was an entirely new concept, the words, the stories, the structures, the happy endings. It fascinated you, they were like paper worlds where those like yourself would be showcased. The only failing of them was that in the end those like you would always loose and give way to what Jeannette called the 'hero' of the story._

 

_Jeanette had taken to reading to you after you asked her a few times to do so. She started with huge books that held many pictures you had a hard time seeing. Eventually she moved to ones that you found you enjoyed far greater than the 'see spot run' ones. She said they were a lot more adult, more for young teens far above your age, but you didn't care. You loved them and enjoyed learning all the new words you came across._

 

_So far your new favorite word was 'slaughter'._

 

_One day Jeanette came sauntering over to your bedside. You had a picture book, nothing very special, it was mostly for you to look at as you absently experimented with your eyesight wondering if there was a way bring it back to normal. She sat on your bedside and patted your leg._

 

_"Hey there sweetie, how are you feeling today?" Even if you liked how you could manipulate her, you still hated her sing song voice. You put on a weak smile, rubbing the side of your arm._

 

_"My arm's hurting a bit more that normal today. Do you think you could get me some medicine?" You didn't really hurt, but you could already feel the meds from before wearing off. It would be better if you got more now that if you got some later._

 

_"Sure sweetie, but we have to talk first before I give you it, okay? Can you do that for me?"_

 

_"Uh-hu." You said with a nod and faked weak smile. You really wanted to instead kick her off your bed, but you knew that would probably stop you from getting what you wanted._

 

_"You remember those policemen that came around to see you a few weeks back right, asking you about your mommy? Well, you see sugar, they decided your mommy was not a very, um, /nice/ person."_

 

_She was trying to make it 'easy' for you to take in, you knew it. She didn't live through the beatings though, the cold wet nights outside in the rain, and the getting so few hours of sleep a day. You bet Jeanette never knew what a pan on the side of your head felt like. It always made you giggle how afraid of pain you had found everyone to be, you were sure Jeanette was no different._

 

_"So, because of that they're gonna be sending you to live in a better place once you're all healed okay?" You already knew this. They were going to send you to an orphanage where a bunch of other kids lived. You didn't know any more than that and from what some of the older kids in the ward said it wasn't a very good place._

 

_"To the orphanage, right?"_

 

_"Yeah sweetie, the orphanage. Did someone else tell you already?"_

 

_"Yeah... the police mentioned it last time." you had to strain from smiling as you told your small lie. It didn't matter if she knew or not, you still loved the thrill it brought and did it as often as you could._

 

_"Oh, well, did they tell you about your name to?" You gave Jeanette a genuinely confused look. You knew you didn't have a name and everyone had just taken to calling you by what they explained to be 'pet names', but besides that you had no idea what she was referring to._

 

_"Well, you see the government is needing to make your legal documents so that they can bring you there. But, your mommy never had them made. Normally your mommy or daddy would have picked your name for you, but since you don't... have one /yet/ the government or police typically would."_

 

_You had to keep yourself under control. The idea of someone having the ability to /name/ you infuriated you beyond what you thought it would. You had figured they would have just left you without a name, you were find with that; it was like having some kind of unspoken freedom to be whatever you wanted to be. They were going to take that away from you and there was nothing more you hated._

 

_"But," Jeanette followed up with quickly. You worried it was possibly because she noticed you slowly boiling anger. "I talked with them and it took a /bit/ of work, but they said you could pick your own name, as long as I approved it. I told them how adult you were and mature, that you wouldn't pick a silly name at all. How about that sweetie!" She said as she pinched one of your cheeks._

 

_You stared flabbergasted at her. For the first time in your life there was someone you felt that you wouldn't want to kill, or at least give a very quick death. It was fleeting and left you quickly, but it was a very interesting moment._

 

_"So, what do you want your name to be?"_

 

_You blinked a few times, your brain starting to buzz with questions and ideas. How would one even go about picking a name? It was never a concept you had even thought about before or what even could constitute as a name. You knew the names of everyone in the ward; John, Gina, Albert, Mark, Jeanette, Felix, and the list went on. But, what name was yours?_

 

_"Having trouble sweetie?" You nodded, for the first time being truly honest with Jeanette.  "Well, um... Oh! Here," She said, gently taking the book in your lap. "think of it like naming a character in a story! You can have any name you want, even if it's the same as someone else's. You're the center of your story! You’re the main character and can be whoever you want to be, sweetie!" She said, ruffling your hair, which you hated._

 

_She sparked an idea in your mind you were the center of your story and your world. She didn't know how big of a center you were, but you knew it. You knew that story well and it was etched in the blood you had already spilled and whatever was your future would be painted to match._

 

_"Main... Character..." You echoed her words thinking and grasping at straws. You tried to break down the ideas of what made a main character; of what made you._

 

_You were not a person of many words, so you wanted it short. You wanted you name to reflect your importance though; you wanted your name to reflect all that was you. You were the controller and you wanted your name to be unlike any other and for those who spoke it to know it. You wanted to be the epitome of what a main character was._

 

_Then, it came to you. It was so simple, so easy. You smiled at Jeanette, a real and honest smile, as you told her your name._

 

_"Chara, my name is Chara."_

 

_Jeanette quickly took to the name and with her stamp of approval she bounded off to go and make it official._

 

_"Chara."_

 

_You kept mouthing the name, letting it fall off your lips quietly to yourself. It was a chant, a promise, a vow to yourself for what you were going to achieve._

 

_"Chara."_

 

_It was your need for control, your determination to have all that you wanted in your hands. You were in the center of it all, you were the storm that no one would ever see coming; you would make sure of it._

 

_"Chara."_

 

_All you needed now, was a plan to take it._

 

_[-]-[-]-[-]_

 

_Eventually you left the hospital, the Nurses throwing you a party with all the other kids forced into attendance. The only thing that you were sad about was that you would have to learn to manipulate new people all over again._

 

_You left the ward with the first new items you had ever possessed besides the knife you had stolen from your mother’s kitchen so long ago. Now you had a set of clothes, a toothbrush, and a blanket. It was nice for the moment to have these new things, but you knew that in the long run they wouldn’t matter._

 

_The worst part of it all was that your arm had healed and Jeanette no longer would give you shots of that sticky reddish euphoria. Maybe where you went would have something similar or, if you were lucky, they would have some there. There was also the chance that they wouldn’t have any, but you kept that far from your mind as the idea made your skin itch._

 

_You were put in a police car in the back, your arms doing the best they could to keep wrapped around your first and only possessions. The ride was long and though the police asked you questions you gave them short answers. You had no reason to appease them, so they didn’t matter. Those useless bags of meat needed to just bring you where you were going._

 

_You were in the car for hours as the police drove you to your new home. You had no idea what it would be like. All you had was the stories you had forced the other kids to tell you. From what they had told you it was like a small version of what one of them called ‘hell’. They didn’t tell you what it really was, but they were afraid of it anyway. You laughed as they told you this while cowering from you. They were already more scared of you then this ‘hell’. You were unafraid and only filled with the determination to control your new home. Nothing would stand in your way._

 

_The car came to a stop and the Police opened the door to let you out. You found yourself in front of a huge five story building with a large bare lawn. The ground was covered in dead grass and patches of dirt while brickwork had large patches of discoloration due to age so bad you could see it. Behind the building, peeking above the roof, was a large mountain covered in dark green and brown splotches. In the many windows that covered the building you could see discolored blotches of what you recognized as people staring out._

 

_Their gazes did not frighten you, but rather the opposite. It was a slow churning of excitement and anticipation. The Police were behind you, fiddling with something in their car as you slowly let a toothy smile creep across your face. Your eyes were wide and soon you were no longer looking at the children, but rather your own mental theater of all the things you were going to do to them. No one was going to be able to stop you. You were Chara._

 

_No one would ever be able to stop you._

 

_"Alright. Let's get you inside, Chara."_

 

_"Y-yes sir!" You said, quickly snapping back to a cheery smile and cheesy grin as you followed the policemen up to the doorsteps of your new home._

 

_You entered, finding yourself standing in the small area that made the lounge. There was a tall figure in the center waiting expectantly. They were shorter than the policemen, but still obviously another adult. To the side was another figure who seemed to be leaning up against the wall._

 

_"Why, hello gentlemen! So nice of you to bring in the newest addition to our large family." It was a woman again, her voice sounded older than any of the other women at the hospital. You squinted your eyes, trying to see if you could get a better look at her, but despite your best efforts you remained blind to her looks._

 

_"And this must be Chara." She said, taking a few steps towards you before bending down to your level. You could see now that she had a mixture of colors in her hair of some brown and some gray. She stared at you for a moment with what you believed to be a frown. "I heard what happened. I'm so very sorry that you were put through all that my dear. But, hopefully, you will find some happiness here away from your mother."_

 

_You were not sure how you should act. You honestly didn't care. You already planned to get out of here someday soon, go and find your mother and spill the dark sludge that was her blood. But, then again, you also planned to do the same with everyone. People were weak and pathetic. They hurt you unless you did what they wanted. At least your mother had always been direct instead of trying to play games like Jeanette liked to do. You suspected that this lady would be no different, but laughing at her ‘feeling’ bad for you wouldn't have played in your favor._

 

_You nodded slowly, face blank as you were unable to decide what emotion would be the best choice in this matter._

 

_"Oh, you poor thing. Still in shock from it all I bet. Here," She waved over the other figure who was standing to the side. They came forward and you found them to be another kid, slightly older than yourself. "Geoffrey will show you to your room so that you can put all your stuff away. I'll come and check on you later. Okay?"_

 

_"Com' on kid. Let's bounce." Geoffrey grabbed one of your hands, yanking you towards the hallway to the left as you barely held onto the stuff in your arms._

 

_He was hurting you. You said and did nothing since the pain was hardly anything compared to what you had experienced before. Though you had decided to never let anyone hurt you again, you forced your desires down within yourself. You had to wait and act when the adults weren't looking. Then you would strike._

 

_For now, though his small violence was tempting of your own, you decided to lay low and let him have his way. You followed him up the many flights of stairs leading towards the top of the building. Any time you came past a hallway there would be kids standing out in the halls watching you. You couldn't see their faces, but it didn't matter since you wouldn't remember who they were anyways. It was at the top two floors that the hallways turned from long corridors and rooms, to a more open spacious area lined with beds. It reminded you of the hospital, but bigger._

_"Hey ya are ya damned kid." Geoffrey said when you got to the top floor. "Here's ya new home."_

 

_Geoffrey pulled you over to one of the beds that were free of things. You didn't have much time to react when Geoffrey threw you into the metal frame. You dropped the few things you had, your tooth brush clattering against the floor, as Geoffrey's voice boomed behind you._

 

_"I'm gonna lay down the ground rules for ya kiddo." He grabbed your shoulder and spun you around. He raised an eyebrow when he saw a wide grin on your face. He thought he was threatening, being some big bad ruler of metal beds and homeless children. It tickled you that he thought he was even remotely in control._

 

_"What's that face fur kid? You got a joke? Cause if so I wanna hear it." Geoffrey grabbed you by the collar of your shirt, lifting you up off the floor slightly._

 

_"Yeah. That you think you're someone important." You started giggling. He was bigger than you, but you already knew that nothing he could throw at you would harm you. You had been through ‘hell’ and tried to kill it._

 

_"Tsk." Geoffrey said, a sinister smile crossing his face at your response. "Yur just a dumb brat. What are ya, six? Seven? Cause, kid-"_

 

_"My name is Chara." Geoffrey didn't seem to like you interrupting him much as his face quickly fell to a frown._

 

_"I'll call ya what I like, /kid/. I'm top dog here and it would be wise for ya to learn that; sooner than later."_

 

_You couldn't hold back much longer. You wanted to give him the same treatment tenfold. You wanted to wrap your fingers around his thin neck and slowly watch the life die in his eyes._

 

_There had been plenty of times back in the hospital where you wanted to do the same. Anytime a kid tried to fight back or stand against you in some way. You managed to figure out a way of being able to avoid it. You didn't want to, but just killing him wouldn't be satisfying; not yet anyway. You were free and just one death wasn't going to satisfy you. You had to wait, so you held your tongue for now._

 

_"See, that wasn't so hard now, was it?" Geoffrey started to lower you but before your feet fully touched the ground you felt his fist collide into your stomach. It caused the muscles to twitch in pain. It wasn’t painful enough that you needed to double over, but you still had to hold onto the bed when Geoffrey fully let you go. You wanted to laugh since your mom had done worse._

 

_Geoffrey turned his head and spat to the side, glaring you down as he headed out of the room. It was now that you realized you weren't alone as you could hear various shuffling from multiple people behind you. You didn't care, if Geoffrey was all the orphanage had to offer for obstacles then there was nothing to worry about._

 

_"You okay?" A small squeak of a voice came from the other side of your new bed which you ignored. They didn’t matter._

_You quickly ran the estimations in your head. Geoffrey was the smallest of your problems. You had a building with several stories to cover and you wanted to be out of this miserable cage as soon as you could. If you could do it tomorrow you would, but that would lead to bad planning and a possibility of getting stopped._

 

_"Hey, um... did you hear me?" Not thinking, you let out a sigh. Whoever they were, they were not going to give up easily, were they. You decided to humor them hoping maybe then they would go away. Then you could be left alone to start planning your takeover and subsequent escape of this dull overcrowded prison._

 

_"Oh, sorry. Yes, I'm fine." You said slowly as you turned around to find a kid about your height standing on the other side of your bed. Their eyes were red and wet with tears, what for you had no idea._

 

_"Geoffrey isn't so bad all the time... if you hide or do what he says he usually lets you be."_

 

_"I'll keep it in mind." You really wouldn't, but it was all you could think to say._

 

_You started rummaging through your stuff, placing your blanket on the bed and your change of clothes underneath. You could still see the kid standing on the other side, watching you silently._

 

_"What happened?" You paused what you were doing._

 

_"What do you mean?"_

 

_"With your eyes." You hadn't realized that there would be people who hadn't been told about your situation. Everyone back at the hospital knew, word just got around like that. When it came to you actually telling your story you didn't want to share that with anyone else. You felt that, if you did, all that hatred would lose its power._

 

_"I was born like this."_

 

_"... Oh." You went back to start putting back your clothes when the kid asked you yet another question. "What happened to your parents?"_

 

_"Why so many questions?" You spat back. You didn't want to be pressed for all the answers of your life. You were going to give none of them up, it was your story and no one else’s. You didn't want to share it in any form._

 

 _"S-sorry... just was curious..." They said as the voice shook. They started to make noises of keeping mucus in their nose and you could hear the rubbing of fabric on skin as they wiped their eyes._ _"If I tell you, will you stop being such a baby?" You said after you finished putting away the rest of your things. They nodded as they did they best to dry up their tears. "My parents died. Now, why are you here?" You leaned on the bed watching them._

 

_"You looked lonely..."_

 

_"Really? That's it?" you snapped back. They flinched as nodded in response, seeming to be too scared to say anything else._

 

_Suddenly, you burst out in laughter. What was /wrong/ with them? They wanted to make sure you weren't /lonely/? You could guess the next thing they would say is they were also afraid of you getting /hurt/ or something stupid. There was a thing you were learning in this world, something that your mom taught you and you suspected was your greatest lesson._

 

_Everyone wanted to hurt you, everyone had their own game, and it was either you get them first or die trying. Maybe, if you had any free time, you would teach them this lesson too._


	36. How You Hurt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 'Chara'
> 
> You mouthed the name to yourself as you continued to hold Frisk. You recognized the name, it was the one Sans had mentioned before if your memory was correct. They were the sibling of Asriel, but what would a deceased human child have to do with any of this? Even Sans had said people flat out die when they lose their SOULs, right? So if this kid passed away years ago how were they having any kind of effect now? You had a lot of questions for Frisk, but they would possibly have to wait; at least until Frisk was calm enough to talk again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is a bit late, but I hope that it was worth it! I would have posted sooner but some work related stuff came up and so I wasn't able to till today, but I'm excited since the chapter after this one is a lot of fun!!
> 
> I hope that you all like the chapter and what happens and you're excited for the next couple of bits! Stay determined everyone!
> 
> Next Chapter: Friday 6/25/2016

'Chara'

 

You mouthed the name to yourself as you continued to hold Frisk. You recognized the name, it was the one Sans had mentioned before if your memory was correct. They were the sibling of Asriel, but what would a deceased human child have to do with any of this? Even Sans had said people flat out die when they lose their SOULs, right? So if this kid passed away years ago how were they having any kind of effect now? You had a lot of questions for Frisk, but they would possibly have to wait; at least until Frisk was calm enough to talk again.

 

It took a few more minutes for them to fully relax and bring their breathing back to normal. They pried themselves from you and wiped their face from any tears before gesturing again for your phone.

 

"Uh, oh. Here." Apprehensively you handed Frisk the phone, not sure if you really wanted to press the kid for more info. "Frisk, maybe we should finish this conversation another time?" They rapidly shook their head as their fingers quickly typing out a message.

 

[We need to act, we're quickly losing time but you can’t tell sans, please promise you wont tell sans]

 

"Why? He knows just as much as we do. He can help, Frisk!"

 

[He won’t understand]

 

You opened your mouth, but quickly stopped yourself. Frisk might be trying to hide it, but you could see their hands still shaking as they held your phone. Whoever Chara was, whatever kind of effect they were having in this whole fiasco, maybe it was something you more had to ask. You were not sure you had any kind of choice.

 

"How about this. Frisk, who _is_ Chara?" Frisk froze for a moment, silently staring at nothing for a small while before typing a reply.

 

[They’re no one, don’t worry about it]

 

"Frisk, whoever Chara is they scare you! You’re shaking like a leaf and I need to know _why_ so I can help you. You don’t have to do this alone, Frisk." You waited for Frisk to reply. Again, they were quiet for a while, glancing between you and the phone. You gave them the best smile you could muster and hoped that they would be willing to trust you, even if it was just a little bit. Eventually they started typing, quickly handing you their message.

 

[Sans told you that chara is asriel's sibling right?]

 

"Yeah," You said with a nod. "but he didn't know anything else besides that." Frisk took a deep breath and started typing away on your phone. Eventually, with their tiny shaking hands, they passed you the phone.

 

[When chara and asriel died, chara never left like a normal soul would. Asriel became flowey while chara's soul slept.]

 

[When I fell in the underground I gained control of the timeline and eventually fought with flowey and later asriel, I lost my ability to control the timelines twice due to flowey’s determination and later the power asriel gained when he had all seven souls, but when I defeated asriel he broke the barrier and gave back the souls he had]

 

[It didn't matter because once the barrier was broken and everyone was able to get to the surface, that was it]

 

[Everything sort of… stopped? I don't really know what it was, but it was almost like a second barrier. Everyone would make it outside, but we could never actually leave the mountain, there would always be something that stopped us, something that had more control than I did]

 

[I couldn’t fight it no matter how many times I saved everyone. I would reset and reset and try to get past it but it never worked… Then I did something I never should have]

 

"Frisk," you said cautiously, ignoring the slow sickening twist pulling in your stomach. "what happened?"

 

You handed back the phone, Frisk again taking it and typing out a new response. They took a while, occasionally pausing to take a few calming breaths before they continued. At some point they started to cry, tears freely flowing down their face.

 

"Frisk, are you okay? You don't have to tell me if-" Frisk made a panicked noise and started sighing at you. All you could gather was that your suggesting was definitely off the table for them. You heart twisted in pain as you watched Frisk sign the same thing over and over again face covered in tiny tears.

 

"Frisk, it's okay! It's okay!" You said as you instinctively pulled them into another hug, not knowing what else you could possibly do. Again you found them desperately clutching to you, it didn't last long for they soon pushed themselves away from you and started texting violently. "Frisk..."

 

You wanted to say something to help calm them down, to make them feel better. You had never been good with people, let alone kids and especially not with end of the world scenarios thrown into the mix. So, though you could feel your pulse in your throat and sticky sweat in your palms, you waited.

 

Once done they handed it back before moving to sit at the wall across from you. You motioned for Frisk to come and sit near you, but they refused. Instead they pulled their legs to their chest and wrapping their arms around themselves, their body shaking from quiet sobs that just barely traveled to your ears. The lump in your throat was expanding, making it hard to swallow as you looked down at the text Frisk had wrote.

 

[I got scared and angry and I still kept resetting and trying different things hoping that maybe if I did things a certain way I could get everyone past the second barrier I could really get everyone to be free and at one point I thought maybe it was because asriel couldn't follow us and that maybe, somehow, I had to find a way to save him too]

 

[It failed and everything else I tried failed]

 

[I gave asriel my soul, I took what was left of his, I even had alphys inject him once with even more determination but nothing worked and no matter what I did I couldn't get past the hold on the time line]

 

[I just wanted everyone to be happy and to live happy]

 

[I'm not sure what came over me but I got so angry and the next time I reset… I hurt everyone that came near me]

 

[I had no idea how many resets I had done, but it did matter anymore, my choices stopped being important because no matter what I did I could just reset and everything would go back to normal]

 

[The first time I hurt someone I got scared and reset]

 

[Sans noticed, but I didn't tell him what happened. Soon after I tried to move the timeline forward a few more times, I eventually found myself back with that… desire to hurt. This time I had more determination then I thought to keep going]

 

[It was after I hurt mom that I reset again but I didn’t feel like myself anymore I just had this weird feeling that it wasn’t my body anymore, that I had someone watching me]

 

[I tried to go back and make things right, but I couldn't and soon I couldn't stop, there was this silent feeling driving me that wasn’t really me, I had to complete what I had set out to do I had to push past, something that told me maybe if I destroyed everything that I could finally make the timeline move again]

 

[I kept going until I found Sans and I fought him and lost count of how many times I failed to defeat him]

 

[I never did, and I'm lucky for it since it was because of him that I stopped]

 

[I went back and tried to make up for my actions but I could still feel the presence that I almost brought to full bloom covering me]

 

[I fought it, and every reset I spent saving everyone it slowly got a weaker and weaker and eventually I decided to talk to asriel about it]

 

[He told me more about chara and how they were mean and hated everyone, that they would manipulate the adults and say what everyone else wanted to hear. ]

 

[He then told me how chara took control of his body when they were fused, how chara had picked up their own body and planned to kill all the humans they came across once outside of the barrier]

 

[He told me what it was like to have chara share a body with him, and what he described was the same feelings I felt when I hurt everyone]

 

[after that, I don't know how many resets I had to go through, but eventually the feeling to hurt others left me and when it did at that same time the timeline started flowing again and I was so happy but I never questioned why when I should have because I think I know why now. It’s all my fault, because if I could have just realized sooner maybe I could have stopped it from happening]

 

You sat down, trying to take in everything that Frisk had typed. You believed you knew what they meant by 'hurt', but you couldn't get your mind around it. Frisk was a _child_ and even out of anger could a kid really _kill_ someone?

 

_'Anyone can be scary, don't you think?'_

 

The words echoed in your head from the dream you had. You shivered. There was no way some odd dream like that could be right. Sure, anyone had the chance to be an ass, but that didn't mean everyone was. Every day people made mistakes and if someone messed up once didn't mean that they were a bad person. Besides, the Frisk you knew so far didn’t seem like that, they didn’t seem like someone that could really hurt anyone else. For now it would be something to try to look into later.

 

"Frisk... are you okay?" You couldn't think of anything else to say that could even remotely make whatever feelings the poor child was having leave them. No one could. Whatever happened to them, whether under their own power or not, it would be something they would have to bare.

 

Frisk shook their head as they kept their face buried against their legs.

 

"Would you like to come sit by me?" They peeked their eyes over their knees at you. You could see the wet streaks reflecting in what little light you had around you. "You don't have to," You started saying, trying to find some way to fill the silence and comfort Frisk. "I just know it helps me sometimes to just be near someone sometimes." Frisk hesitated for a minute, studying you before quickly scrambling in your lap practically curling up like a cat. You were shocked that Frisk was even willing to do that.

 

For a while you both remained there. Frisk curled up on themselves in your lap, occasionally shivering, as you gently patted their head.

 

You watched them, filled with worry for not only Frisk but for the implications of their actions. If Sans had told you might not have believed him, but it came from Frisk themselves. You sat there, eyes no longer focused as you ran over everything in your head.

 

It was a lot to retain, all of it was. Even just going through the facts that you already knew were starting to overwhelm you and yet you couldn't shake the feeling that there was even more that you didn't know. Then again, with how everything was it might just be a feeling that will never go away. One thing was for sure, that these kids were the epicenter of it all, that somehow they-

 

"everything okay?" You flinched from the sudden noise beside you. Frisk also recoiled at the combined sudden movement and Sans's appearance, letting out a small squeak as they did. They glared at Sans signing something.

 

"F-" You were about to curse but then decided that it was better you not; for Frisk's sake. "Sans! What are you doing here?"

 

"uh, well, you see, i have these two friends who left over thirty minutes ago and missed most of this movie we were watching. my bro got concerned and so, _tibia_ good brother, i decided to go find them. " As Sans spoke he walked around to your other side. He sat down to join you and Frisk with sitting against the wall. "so, uh, you seen my friends anywhere? one of them is taller than me and the other has brown hair just like this."

 

Sans leaned over ruffling Frisk's hair which caused them to smile and laugh a little. Frisk signed a few things to Sans, sticking out their tongue.

 

"hehe, _ulna_ got me there, kiddo. i'll have to work on telling _fibula_ 's." You cracked a smile at the puns, for a moment letting the pressure of the situation slip from your mind. It was then Frisk climbed out of your lap and forced both you and Sans to scoot over so that they could sit between the two of you. "so, what are you both doing up here?"

 

"Well, Frisk-" Suddenly two small hands were clamped over your mouth stopping you from being able to talk. You quickly grabbed Frisk's hands moving them away from your mouth. "Frisk, we should tell him."

 

"tell me what?"

 

Frisk pulled their hands from your grasp and started frantically gesturing at Sans; some of it you were sure wasn't sign language but rather just panicked motions. Frisk then stopped, giving a small strained smile. Sans just rubbed the back of his head and let out a sigh.

 

"hehe, i know you're lying kid, but i can't make you tell me." Sans lifted himself up off the ground and shoved his hands back in his pockets. "i'll let the other's know you'll be out soon." Sans started heading towards the other side of the hall, heading towards the only exit of the upstairs area.

 

"Sans wait!" You called out to him, causing him to stop and turn around. "Just... do you mind waiting for a little bit?" Sans shrugged and leaned up against the wall, closing his eyes. You turned to Frisk who was sighing at you. You couldn't understand, them but you could just tell by the gestures they were mad for you having called Sans back.

 

You inhaled deeply, trying to quickly organize your thoughts. You were the outsider in all of this. You didn't bring anything to the table save for your memories and your happenstance of living outside of the mountain. However, all you could see amongst the muck of this situation were a bunch of good friends too afraid to actually talk about what was happening. You couldn't accept this, you couldn't accept Sans trying to protect everyone from the resets and Frisk fighting alone for everyone's happiness. You couldn't accept yourself just sitting on the sidelines.

 

"Frisk," you placed your hand's on their shoulders, causing them to stop their movements. However, they were still glaring at you with glimmering wet eyes. "first, how many more resets do you think we have left?" Out of the corner of your eyes you saw Sans flinch from his position against the wall. Frisk stopped their spiked stare and instead casted their sights to their hands as they twirled their thumbs absently. "It doesn't have to be exact, but it's important that we know." You handed Frisk your phone which they took with shaky hands, quickly typed out a message, and handed it back.

 

[Less than 100, I'm not really sure, I can't tell]

 

[It could be 100 or it could be 10 or even 1, I have no way of knowing other that how I feel...]

 

You're eyes went wide and you could feel your own hand's start to shake. For a moment you wished Frisk would have told you think information first, but there was no changing the past now.

 

"what did they say?" Sans said as he moved closer, bending down to look at the phone.

 

You looked up at him, trying to find the words, but not even your own breath would move out of your body. You saw the lights in Sans’s eyes disappear and a visible shiver run through him. He motioned for your phone which you passed to him. Sans slowly started flipping through the many messages Frisk had written to you just a short while ago. Frisk frantically signing to Sans, but you didn’t know it he was actually paying attention anymore.

 

“frisk, buddy, tell me your joking.”

 

Frisk paused mid-sentence. They lowered their hands giving you and Sans a remorseful shake of their head.

 

“Frisk.” You forced the words out, your voice sounding small and weak, though in your heart you could feel that it was anything but. “I know there’s a lot I’m probably still missing, but you don’t have to fight this alone. I’m sure everyone, Papyrus, Undyne, Alphys, and Sans all want to help. I know _I_ want to help.” You internally groaned, realizing that you were starting to sound like a broken record at this point. You mentally shrugged it off and continued.

 

“This is a huge threat and I know you want to save everyone else, but someone’s gatta save you too kid.” You placed a hand on their shoulders and smiled. Slowly, they let a tiny grin form on their face as well. You felt a weight lift with this, slowly thinks were looking up. Somehow this would work.

 

“it’s not going to work.” You turned to Sans who still had the lights missing from his eyes. “we’re tried everything before. it doesn’t matter what we’ve done it always fails. we don’t have enough time in the city. if we had maybe one more month or something then we could possibly make it work, but we don’t. then everyone forgets and its back to square one.” Sans’s voice was monotone and dulled. You could feel your heart seize with a small pain knowing the dark shadow you could almost feel looming over your friend.

 

It wasn’t just Sans though. Frisk’s smile had deflated with tears starting to form at their eyes. You clenched your fists, anger swelling quickly in your chest. How could Sans accept defeat so quickly? There was always something that could be done. You understood and accepted the situation at hand; it was a towering creature of death and fear that none of you really understood. However, the last thing you were going to do was back down now.

 

“You’re forgetting one thing, Sans.”

 

“what?”

 

“You have me. I wasn’t there for any of those times right? So, with me in the mix things could change. We could win and stop Flowey. Or whoever is the cause. We’ve changed the variables and things _could_ be different! Maybe Frisk won’t have to reset this time! I know it’s possible, so we can’t just give up here.”

 

As you talked the lights slowly came back to Sans’s eye sockets. The longer you talked the more power your voice had; the more that you felt your words were telling truths rather than far off wishes. You could do this, you all could do this and all it would really take was a fair amount of team work. It didn’t matter who, Flowey or Chara, either of them wouldn’t stand a chance against all of you.

 

It was Frisk who replied first. They didn’t sign, but instead grabbed one of your hands and held it tightly with both of theirs. They were smiling, tears no longer flowing, and gave you a determined nod. You blinked a few times before mimicking their response.

 

“I’ll do my best, Frisk! We can do this, I know it.”

 

Frisk broke their grasp from your hands, signing at Sans who still remained silent. Eventually he left out a forced chuckle.

 

“fine. i’ll do what i can to help; when i’m not busy with all my other jobs.”

 

Frisk shook their head signing again to Sans who gave a real laugh this time.

 

“you’ve been listening to papyrus too much, kiddo. i’m always doing a _skele_ -ton of work.”

 

You couldn’t help but laugh at the pun, even though you were sure he had said it a few times by now. Frisk did their best to keep from giggling and instead signed again to Sans, probably telling him to stop making horrible puns. If there was a better time for it, you would instead be urging Sans to keep going. Sadly it would have to wait another time.

 

“So, then it’s settled. We’ll get everyone together and try to figure out something that will work. Together.” You turned to Frisk, giving them the most reassuring smile you could. “You think you can tell everyone what you told me?”

 

Frisk frowned, avoiding your gaze.

 

“I promise I’ll be right beside you the whole time if you want.” You offered, hoping that it would give Frisk what they needed.

 

After a few moments they gave you a small nod, which was a good enough reply for you.


	37. Different Perspective

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans knew that you meant well. It wasn't just because he had seen your SOUL, he had been around you enough to make an educated guess that you were wanting to make the world around you a better place. However, your blind acceptance of everyone kept you from seeing the full picture. This was not the case for Sans and he not only saw the picture of the timeline before him, but what the next one could be. There were too many resets, too many saves, too many times the kid had tried and failed, and too many times that Sans let Frisk do as they pleased.
> 
> Chara was dead and whatever game Frisk was playing this time around, Sans didn't like it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is so late! I have been super busy and life has been keeping me away from the computer X( however I have the chapter here, although unedited, but I wanted to get it out so that you all could read what's going on next! Also I will be posting the chapter for this friday on time I swear!!
> 
> This ended up being a story from Sans's perspective, I didn't expect to be doing one of these, but I have a feeling there will be a few of them occasionally, depends on the need of the story!!! XD This one I really liked and personally thought was pretty cool and I hope that you all do as well! I hope that you all enjoy and now I will let you get to the story!
> 
>  
> 
> Next Update: 7/1/16

Sans knew that you meant well. It wasn't just because he had seen your SOUL, he had been around you enough to make an educated guess that you were wanting to make the world around you a better place. However, your blind acceptance of everyone kept you from seeing the full picture. This was not the case for Sans and he not only saw the picture of the timeline before him, but what the next one could be. There were too many resets, too many saves, too many times the kid had tried and failed, and too many times that Sans let Frisk do as they pleased.

 

Chara was dead and whatever game Frisk was playing this time around, Sans didn't like it.

 

"hey, uh, mind if i have a word alone with the kid?" Sans could feel the apprehension in your SOUL, but you still agreed to his request.

 

"Sure, um, I guess I'll wait downstairs for you both?"

 

"yeah, we wont take long." Sans smiled, trying to reassure you. For as little as you knew about the whole scope of the situation, your intuition was a scary opponent to try and hide from.

 

"Okay, I'll just be downstairs then." Frisk waved happily at you, to which you waved back before heading down the hallway and down the escalator at the end. Sans dared not to even speak until you were fully gone.

 

[What is it Sans?] Frisk signed nervously.

 

"what are you planning, kiddo?" Frisk flinched. "normally i would just sit back and watch, but i have this feeling that promise we made is being tested."

 

[Sans,] Frisk took a step forward, pleading with Sans. [I swear I will keep my promise; I don't want to hurt anyone ever again!]

 

"look, kid, i'm gonna be honest with you. after what you did, i'm not sure even trusting you now is such a good idea, but i am. i want to keep trusting you, frisk, i want us to be friends; i want to believe you."

 

[Then do!]

 

"how can i when you're saying 'chara' is the one who made you do it? that you weren't under your own control?" Sans said plainly, his voice even and calm.

 

Frisk retracted, pulling their hands towards themselves. Sans could see them shaking and could feel their SOUL crying in remorse. It wasn't something they did often, but Sans would feel the string on his own soul pull and tug at the sight.

 

"i want to trust you, but i also can't lose them again, frisk."

 

[I want to trust me too.] Frisk signed with shaking hands. [I didn't tell them this, but I remember a voice. It started small in my head when I was... fighting Toriel. I wanted to stop, but it kept saying that I had to try something different, that if I gave it control and followed through, things would change.]

 

[I... I had to do something, Sans! Time refused to move forward! It was paused and nothing I did fixed it! I... I didn't know I would lose all control so quickly... that it would go as far as it did. I tried to stop it all again after Papyrus, but I only failed again.

 

[It has to be Chara, it would explain why it had been so hard for me to have control of the time line.]

 

Sans felt his body go numb. Frisk had never talked at length about what they had done; Sans had never wanted to hear it. They had killed his brother, they had killed everyone. They were memories he never wanted to re-live. It only happened a few times, but even before it happened Sans had nightmares of it. When Frisk started to go through the underground, turning everyone to dust, Sans at first thought he had been dreaming.

 

Sans was glad that he now had Papyrus, even if his dreams showed him all the other ways it could have ended.

 

[But I have control now, I am me now! I would never want to do that again, but I don't know how to prove it to you.]

 

"there's only one way to do that, but you’re out of luck kid cause i’m not doing it. you'll need to find something else to persuade me with, kiddo."

 

[Then let me do it! Please, if it is Chara and they working with Flowey, if they are behind this, I don't know what's going to happen!]

 

" i already told ya, kiddo. no way." Sans couldn't look Frisk in the eye. He wanted answers, sure, but he wasn't going to pull that truth out of them. It was to painful and evasive for him to be willing to do that to Frisk.

 

[Do it.]

 

"no."

 

[You wont believe me otherwise! So, do it.]

 

Sans was quiet, eye lights retracted from their normal place as he contemplated his options. Frisk was right, he wouldn't ever fully trust or believe Frisk any other way. At the same time, he knew it was going to hurt more than anything else Frisk had probably been through.

 

“you’re not gonna-“

 

Sans didn’t get to finish his sentence, Frisk stepping forward becoming closer than what Sans was comfortable with at the moment. Frisk placed a hand to their chest and drew out their SOUL, deep red and hovering in their small hands.

 

[Please, Sans. I don’t care what you have to do.]

 

“it’s going to hurt.”

 

[Okay.]

 

“like, it’s _really_ going to hurt. ”

 

[We’re out of time, Sans.] Frisk signed slowly with their one free hand, visibly swallowing as they echoes the words they said before. [Do it.]

 

"why do you have to be so damned determined, kid?" Frisk thrust their SOUL towards Sans as their only response. Sans let out a sigh, before stuffing his hands deep into his pockets. "alright, but not here."

 

Frisk gave a nod, pushing their SOUL back into their chest. Once their SOUL was secure back inside them, Sans pulled his left hand out of his pocket and touched Frisk's shoulder.

 

Sans let his magic flair the moment his hand touched Frisk, the sightless magic instantaneously wrapping around the two of them and quickly whisking them both off to the place Sans had in mind. It was outside, just a small ways past the entrance to head back inside the underground. It was far from camp, far from their friends, and far from the city.

 

"you sure you wanna do this, kiddo?"

 

Frisk gave a firm nod of their head to which Sans replied with a sigh.

 

"alright then." Sans shifted his magic internally, morphing it into a fighting state which forced Frisk's SOUL out. Sans could feel his own SOUL suddenly spike with pain knowing what he was going to do. "last chance to back out."

 

Frisk remained still, their face etched with determination. They took a step forward, bringing themselves closer to Sans.

 

Sans could already feel beads of sweat forming on his head; violence of any kind wasn't really in him. He was never willing to fight for himself, but right now if his guess was right then everyone around him could be in more danger than before. Flowey proved a couple thousand resets ago that he could reset too, something Sans had always thought to be just reserved for Frisk. If Frisk started gaining LOVE, if they started to carve a path in dust and death, Flowey might be the least of their worries. However, Sans wasn't sure he could even bring himself to hurt the kid, even if they had such plans.

 

"you know," Sans said, his fingers playing idly with the lint in his pockets. "you don't have any LV right now. if i wanted to i could dust you."

 

Sans had been hoping for Frisk to back down, to flinch and move away, to get what Sans was hinting at and let this whole thing go. But they didn't move.

 

"no one would know, kid. we're too far away from anyone for you to get any kind of help. do you really think, in a situation like this, a guy like me can really be trusted."

 

[Yes. I know you wouldn't do that, Sans.]

 

"how do you know? i could be lying about there being a way for me to know if you have the sins of a killer or not. i could have just made it up to bring you out here to give you a _bad time_. to defeat you now when you're weak and not a threat. "

 

[Because the Sans I know would never do that.]

 

"but what about the frisk i know? we both know that it wasn't the first time you had killed someone, that there are plenty of times where you let most of everyone live except a few. for all i know you could have been playing the pacifist and got bored again, and now you're wanting to try something different.

 

[It's not just for you, Sans.] Frisk shifted uncomfortably where they stood. [I need to know if what I did was really me or not. Right now I know what I feel and I would never want to hurt _anyone_ ever. But if you're able to see if it was really me who did it, then I need to know, for my own sake.]

 

Sans remained silent. He couldn't force the words out of himself. He could no longer force himself to play pretend trying to scare off Frisk from this idea, but the honest facts were more frightening than his lies.

 

[Please, Sans.] Frisk said, taking another step forward. Their bright red SOUL bouncing in front of them with their movement. [I _need_ to know.]

 

"it might kill you, frisk." Sans said, staring at the ground, unable to bring himself to look up.

 

[I can just come back!]

 

"it wont make it hurt any less."

 

[I don't care. I'm determined to find out, Sans. So just get it over with already.]

 

"... fine. kid, brace yourself." Sans pulled out his left hand, quickly wrapping Frisk's SOUL in magic turning it blue. He didn't want to do this more than once, so he needed Frisk to hold as still as possible and for it to do as quickly as he could. Sans couldn't hesitate any longer, grabbing onto a small fragment of will to follow through from inside of himself before acting. Sans created visible blue wisps of magic swirling around his hand a fraction of a second before plunging it deep into the center of Frisk's SOUL.

 

Sans could feel the vibrations of Frisk's screams as his sight rapidly faded to black.

 

=-=-=

 

Sans could feel himself floating in a vast warmth. It was less of a feeling of temperature and touch and more of experiencing an emotion that seeped deep into his bones. He felt weightless and bare, hovering and still. He opened his eyes, glancing around. He found himself in a sea of red with flecks of gold and pink and purple speckled around like stars. He recognized what type of place this was, but couldn't remember why he had come here. It was different than the normal one's he had entered previously; there was a lot more color and the area about his felt thick and heavy.

 

Sans knew the first steps he needed to take. He closed his eyes and searched his mind, taking his time to piece together his memories. It didn't take long for them to all come flooding gently back falling into their puzzle-etched places within his memories. When he opened his eyes he looked around him again, this time with purpose rather than awe.

 

"you're pretty damned lucky, kid." Sans said as he started to maneuver himself around. If Frisk hadn't survived it he wouldn't be there; Frisk's SOUL would have shattered to pieces from the inside out. But it didn't, so all he had to do was find where the darkest parts were hiding and get out.

 

The quicker it happened the less pain Frisk would be in.

 

As Sans went about Frisk's SOUL the colored balls floating about changed. Some would vibrate while some would flash slowly between two or three colors. They were memories and fragments, different than what someone's mind would hold. The head could forget while the SOUL, it never did. The memories of the events could be erased from time, made to never exist, but those feelings would still be there; etched into something even more permanent than stone.

 

If Frisk really killed everyone then those feelings would be there, those memories would be there. It would be a sin Frisk would never be able to wash themselves of.

 

It felt like hour's to Sans with how long he had moved through Frisk's SOUL and still not found a single trace of those memories. It made sense though, the kid had remembered and experienced more than most could possibly conceive. Those who didn't have the memories of each time line would repeat a lot of what they experienced, so the SOUL had nothing new to track. For Frisk, each timeline, save, reset, every part was different and deliberate. Their SOUL was bursting with thousands of feelings and memories. To try and parse them to find the small handful of darker feelings would have to take time.

 

In the corner of Sans's vision is when he spotted one. At first when he looked he thought it was just a small speck of dark purple; a memory and feeling of pushing past limits. However, when he finally convinced himself to at least get a bit closer to be sure, he found it to instead be a speck of black.

 

As Sans got closer he could see a few more that had been hiding in that same area. There weren't many, maybe 12 or 15. It was the first slight relief for Sans in this, the less they were in number the more likely Frisk would probably not be planning something. It didn't absolve them from their actions, but it was a good lead for Sans to have hope.

 

"alright, kiddo. lets see what we've got here."

 

Sans lightly placed a finger against the surface of the first speck, the emotions held within it quickly crawling through Sans's bones like venom. The emotions burned as they traveled, carving a path to Sans's own SOUL.

 

Frustration and pain; those were the emotions encircling Sans's own, flooding his senses. Anger and hate of one's situation. Unable to change what will happen and the anger of hitting that wall over and over and over and over. Hatred with small inlays of fear and resentment of everyone that ever existed; friends, family, self.

 

Then a burst came; a sudden explosion pushing forth and using all inside to lash out in an attempt to get away from it, to force something different. It felt almost like a shove, an unwilling push that used all of the dark emotions around it. Then the burst quickly died. Every fiber became like ice. The fear that hung about the fringes now ran through everything like small trails of lightning. Regret formed quickly, sucking in the shattered leftovers of hate like a black hole, compounding them into a solid mass that hung low and heavy.

 

Then it ended, the venom retracted itself from Sans and feel back into it's own little sphere.

 

He moved onwards to the next one, finding most of the first few the same. He didn't need to see it to know the story; Frisk would reset, their emotions rampaging through them from so many tries and failures. They would kill someone, maybe a few more, and then the regret and realization of what they were doing would set in. When that did, they reset and the feelings would end.

 

Each time the feelings would last longer, become deeper, as well as starting to build a feeling of numbness to accompany. The further Sans went, the more his own small pin prick of hope faded. Eventually, he got to the last three specks. He grabbed one, letting it fold over his own, taking him on the emotional ride that was Frisk.

 

The emotional memory enveloped him, but there was nothing. It was just dark and cold, the only feeling Sans could tell was the forefront of the idle numbness that came with most of the others. It lasted the longest, just and endless stream of nothing for an undetermined and immeasurable amount of time. Then, for reasons Sans could only guess at, there was some kind of spark. It was almost as if the single throb of Frisk's SOUL had been translated into an emotion; it couldn't be placed and it was only a tiny blip, but it would be felt. Emotions of all kinds started to pull forth, from the immoveable feeling of regret, to sadness, to even a small fleck of relief and happiness. It was a regaining of control, of self, of emotions.

 

When it ended Sans quickly grabbed another, but the entire thing to be encased in empty numbness. The whole of it was nothing, a sleeping SOUL. He grabbed the third and final one. It was like walking into an oven, feelings quickly blasting forth the moment contact was made. Anger, rage, loss, hate, fear, loneliness, and determination. The emotions were blinding to the point where various colors started to flash behind Sans's closed eyes. Sans fought to keep himself separate from the emotions since they wanted to overwhelm and consume. It was a clash, a fight between Frisk's determination and the overwhelming sea of so many others.

 

Sans did his best to watch and not be caught up in the flurry now raging inside of him. Never before had he felt such a thing within someone else. Sans couldn't place it and didn't give it any extra thought. Whatever it was that Frisk was fighting was still _alive_ , even if it was only alive within it's own tiny lost speck. Sans pushed back, urging his own magic to keep himself protected.

 

Sans was losing against the onslaught of the living emotions, their constant bashing against his magic almost too much for Sans to keep himself protected against. Soon he found himself dwindling in how magic, the stress and pressure of it all too much. Just before he collapsed unable to continue to hold it all back from himself, the attack stopped. Sans could feel whatever it was turn back to the remembered determination it was trapped with. Sans was not the only one who had been on the verge of losing, and in memory it was now that Frisk felt pray to the darker emotions.

 

The living emotions were forced to follow the memory. Sans could feel it grow and slowly envelop what was Frisk's determination and hope. In a moment everything changed, Everything went numb as the two others were before. Frisk no longer owned their own SOUL, their determination that made up most of who they were. It had been lost when they were at their weakest and now all that Frisk could remember, all they had truly done, was wait in their own void of nothing while whatever was outside of them controlled and remembered their actions.

 

Soon it was over and the memory sank back into itself. It was only half the story, but still the answer to what Sans was looking for. Frisk had lost against whatever they had been fighting. How the battle started or what was the ignition Sans didn't know, but it didn't matter. Frisk really hadn't been in control. Once they lost that was it, their very SOUL stopped recording and being present. It was a small laps in it all compared to the thousands and thousands of emotional bubbles around, but it was there and whatever it was over powered Frisk with near brute force. Everything thing Frisk did, remembered, and preformed was not something they honestly chose to do; their SOUL had no memory of making those choices.

 

"hehe..." Sans started to chuckle to himself, wrapping his arms around his waist. It was the punch line to a joke he had never heard and honestly wasn't even slightly funny, but he laughed anyway until his voice was ringing in his skull. It was all he could do and was the better alternative to crying.

 

Once he was done, his urges to sob and laugh finally leaving him, he magically reached out pulling himself towards his own body once again.

 

=-=-=

 

When Sans came back he could still feel the vibrations of Frisk's scream. It had been only a few seconds, ten at most, that he had actually spent inside of Frisk's SOUL, but however long it was it was still longer then Sans could feel okay with. Sans quickly tugged on his hand, the magic encased bone leaving a large hole in the center of Frisk's SOUL and retracted his magic forcing the SOUL to be blue. Frisk's cry stopped suddenly, their body wavered before they started to collapse to the ground.

 

Sans flared his magic, quickly moving to be behind Frisk, catching them just before they hit the ground. Sans couldn't keep them standing so instead he cradled them in his boney arms, lowing himself and Frisk to be closer to the ground. Sans glanced at their SOUL, watching as it started to fill the hole Sans had made. It was like a sponge, quickly popping back into it's normal position and looked as if Sans had never done anything at all.

 

Frisk was only unconscious, probably only for a few more seconds, but as Sans looked down on the kid he wasn't sure what he should feel. All he knew was that he felt numb. Not the empty vibrations that he would have pinned to what he felt inside of Frisk's SOUL, but something that was more comforting and protective. Whatever it was that had taken control of Frisk, it wasn't monster nor human. Never before had emotions been alive even in memory. The SOUL was merely meant to record, to view and absorb, nothing in it should have been empty or even reacted as if happening right then. As far as Sans knew, from all of his experiments and studies, it was impossible to access active emotions.

 

Sans shivered, never again did he want to come across whatever was residing within Frisk. He now understood what had the kid so visibly spooked and he hoped that Frisk would never let it have control again. For now, as far as Sans could tell, Frisk had buried those feeling as deep as they could get them to be. The only way they could come back is if whatever it was that caused it in the first place came back or if someone touched that specific memory again. Sans was glad this would be the only time this could happen.

 

Frisk then made a small noise and stirred in Sans's arms.

 

"h-hey, kiddo. you okay?"

 

[Pain.] Was all Frisk could manage to sign, the one hand they were able to lift shaky and struggling to be lifted.

 

"it won't last long. just relax and it should go away soon." Sans's voice was low and solemn.

 

Frisk didn't listen, or if they did they didn't show it. They grabbed hold of Sans's right shoulder, using it as leverage to heave themselves into a more sitting position.

 

"kid, don't move! you're gonna make the pain last longer if you move! just give it a few minutes and it'll be gone."

 

[What did you see?] Frisk said as they continued to move themselves so that were sitting on the ground now, their face occasionally twisting in pain. Sans fumbled with his hands, half between trying to help Frisk sit up and half trying to force them to lay back down. He didn't want to hurt them more than he already had; he had enough to apologize for already.

 

"no! you gatta lay down, frisk, i'll tell you once you're better."

 

[Sans,] Frisk signed as they pried themselves from Sans's clumsy hands. [we don't have the time. Just tell me what you found.] Sans let out a sigh.

 

“... alright. it took me a while, but i did find the memories.”

 

[And?]

 

“you were right, i’m… sorry for doubting ya, kiddo.” Sans said as he rubbed the back of his neck and darted his eyes to the ground. “however, under no circumstances are you to let anyone else enter your SOUL again, not even me.”

Frisk wobbled a bit, whether from what he said or from the probably dizzying pain, Sans wasn’t able to tell. They slumped over slightly just enough for their hair to cover their face. Occasionally they shook and trembled, but remained silent. Worry started to seep through Sans’s chest like venom.

 

“frisk, buddy, you okay?”

 

They refused to look at Sans, only managing to move their head in a slow shake.

 

“okay, come on. we’re getting you back inside.” Sans moved to scoop up Frisk, but Frisk pushed him away at every advance.  Sans recoiled at Frisk’s response. “frisk, i’m not sure what’s wrong but if you’re hurt alphys can help okay? so just let me pick you up buddy and we can get out of here and-“

 

[No. Sans I.] Frisk looked up at Sans, tears falling down their face in steady streams. [I hurt mom. I hurt so many, Sans. I remember their faces, their cries- how could it not have been me? I- what if I do it again, Sans? I did it once, what if I do it again? What if I hurt everyone again and everyone dies and it’s all my fault what if-]

 

Sans bent down, wrapping Frisk into a tight hug. He was scared. If what he felt inside of Frisk ever got out, every managed to take control of the kid again, he didn’t know if there would be a way back for anyone. It might all just end there with that dark hate and malice consuming the world through the actions of a child.

 

“it’s gonna be okay, frisk.” Sans fell back to the only thing he knew, lying. Pretending that everything would be okay, that he would see the sun tomorrow, that Papyrus was still alive, that this would be the final reset. “whatever it was is gone. you don’t need to worry about it anymore. we’ll be okay and whatever of whoever chara is, we’ll beat them. alright, kiddo?”

 

Frisk signed something, but Sans wasn’t able to see what they had said. Frisk cried into his coat as Sans did his best not to do the same.


	38. Falling to Place

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You had spent the next week meandering around the orphanage when you could trying to familiarize yourself with it. It wasn't as much as you would have liked as after leaving the hospital you suddenly became sick with the flu or the cold or what ever made up 'sickness' the old lady Mrs. Broadstone said you had. It was almost completely debilitating and it hindered your plans from moving as quickly as you wanted. You needed to know what you had available, what you could reach and use. You needed to know where exactly Ms. Broadstone kept all the knives.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *WARNING*  
> Mentions of Drug use  
> Mentions of will to do harm
> 
> Welp... I'm later than ever, hehe. Life's been a bit crazy so I apologize but here is the chapter and I hope that you all enjoy it!
> 
> Next Update: 7/15/16

_You had spent the next week meandering around the orphanage when you could trying to familiarize yourself with it. It wasn't as much as you would have liked as after leaving the hospital you suddenly became sick with the flu or the cold or what ever made up 'sickness' the old lady Mrs. Broadstone said you had. It was almost completely debilitating and it hindered your plans from moving as quickly as you wanted. You needed to know what you had available, what you could reach and use. You needed to know where exactly Ms. Broadstone kept all the knives._  
  
So far, due to have a rather good day, you had managed to find where the boiler room was. It was kept under lock and key, probably to make sure none of the other kids got inside. You had yet to locate all the fire escapes or find out how to jam the windows, but you figured that it would either come in time or maybe it wouldn’t be necessary at all.  
  
Surprisingly, your teary friend managed to actually be useful to your plans. They were the only one allowed in the kitchen during dinner times since they were a favorite child of the old lady. All you needed was to convince them to tell you where the old bag liked to keep the knives and nearly everything would be set.  
  
"What are you doing?"  
  
It was becoming their most often asked question lately. You were currently inspecting the door to the boiler room. Ms. Broadstone had the key, but there had to be some other way of getting the door to open. Maybe if you hit it with a rock or found something else to break it open with. Unfortunately, you suspected you lacked the strength to complete such a task. Though you had no actual solution to your issue it was not something of which you would be telling them; you would find the solution on your own.  
  
"I think the door's broken."  
  
"Oh... Why do you think the door is broken?"  
  
"Because one of the bigger kids went inside earlier." You did your best to stifle your rising annoyance with their plain and silly questions.  
  
"Why did they go inside?" You turned back towards them with your hands balled tightly.  
  
"How would I know?"  
  
"I... I don't know..."  
  
"So, why did you ask?"  
  
"I was… curious."  
  
"Then go ask them." You walked away from the door having learned anything new and only becoming annoyed at your quizzical follower. It didn't take long for you to hear their footsteps behind you. They were sniffling behind you, probably crying. You made a small, low grumble before turning around to face them.  
  
"Why are you such a cry baby?" They stopped, tears running down their face as they stared at you. "You don't like it here, right? You want to get out of here, right?" They nodded. "Then stop blubbering and do something useful for once." You started walking down the hall again, ignoring their footsteps as best as you could.  
  
You hated them, you hated everyone in the entirety of the building and the world. Everyone was hiding something, fighting for control. Ever since the hospital you've wanted out. To be free and no longer under someone's thumb. You be completely in control. You couldn't do it at the hospital, you tried but they had too many people which meant too many eyes that could see what you were doing. Here, there was only the orphanage owner, the aging Ms. Broadstone with her eye sight almost as bad as your own.  
  
There was a slowly building clamor of voices ahead of you. You recognized it as Geoffrey as he's group. You still had bruises from the last few times he had come to pay you a visit. For some reason he liked to push your patience which you were running dangerously thin on. You blamed it all on the lack of meds and red liquid shots. You had covered every room you could get into, stolen from every bottle and stash of pills you could find. None of them gave the same rush and euphoria as the shot did; saying you were starting to feel antsy was an understatement.  
  
You kept walking, heading towards the stairway, doing your best to ignoring Geoffrey and his poor excuse for an existence. Behind you were able to hear the cry baby make whimpering noises and small attempts to whisper to you that Geoffrey was just up head. You ignored them and silently daring Geoffrey to attack you.

_You got to the stairs of which Geoffrey and his friends were handing out around. They were a mixed bag of various kids. Geoffrey didn't care who or what they were, as long as they followed him and beat up they kids he told them to. Some deep part of you respected that Geoffrey was able to control them with such a base fear as physical violence._

_"Look what we got here." Geoffrey called out to you. You ignored him and started up the stairs, carefully taking each step since you couldn't see them well. One of the goons grabbed your arm stopping you from going any further. "Hey, there's a toll today, ya know? Gatta pay ten cents to use the stairs."_

_“No.” You didn’t care what they were going to do. You were not afraid of them, let alone had any kind of money. You friend was still making small noises at the bottom of the stairs. From what you could tell it sounded like they were saying they would pay your ten cents, but over what Geoffrey and his goons started saying no one could hear them._

_“What’d you say to me?”_

_“I said, no. Now, let go.” You tried to yank your arm out of their grasp but they were much bigger and stronger than you so your efforts meant nothing._

_“Ya little fucker.” The one holding your hand suddenly pulled you backwards causing you to tumble to the ground. Off to the side somewhere your ‘friend’ suddenly burst into tears and went running off back down the hallway. They were probably going to tell Ms. Broadstone, you didn’t care either way._

_Right now your head was throbbing and you couldn’t wipe the smile off your face._

_“Little shit.” One of them kicked you in the side causing you to curl up on yourself. It wasn’t as hard as the one’s your mom had given you before, nothing anyone could have done would be as bad as her, but it was still enough to knock the wind out of you a bit._

_“What should we do with ‘em?”_

_“Let’s steal their shoes and go trash their stuff upstairs!”_

_“Or maybe we can just take all their money, ever thought of that nit-wit.”_

_“No.” You could hear Geoffrey cut in from the chatter of his gang. “Kid’s been trouble since the first day. Let’s fix that.” Someone stepped over to you, grabbing the collar of your shirt and hoisting you up off the ground._

_You were starting to get your breath back allowing you to laugh as you stared up at Geoffrey who had been the one to pick you up. The rush, the euphoria, it was nothing like the medicine that Jeanette would give you, but it was a whole other creature to you. You had missed this primal feeling of blood lust and call for death brought on by your own hands. Right then, you wanted nothing more than to feel Geoffrey’s thick hot blood spill and seep through your clothing and pain the floor._

_You started laughing, the idea that they scared you or even remotely thought that they were going to teach you some kind of ‘lesson’ was bewildering. They knew nothing of pain and actual fear. They thought they were in control with their strength and their numbers, but there was something that they were forgetting._

_You were Chara._

_“What’s so funny, huh, kid? Do you like pain or somethin’ ya little freak?” Geoffrey’s voice was shaking as he spoke._

_“No. Just thinking of what you’re insides will look like when I gut you.” Geoffrey’s eyes widened for a moment as the older kid stared at you. He quickly threw you behind him as hard as he could into a wall. You shoulder was what made contact, stinging pain flooding your senses as you crumpled to the ground. You were again reminded of your mother, the pain she had caused you less than what Geoffrey just caused. You crumpled to the ground, doing your best to pull yourself up as the three other kids circled around you._

_“Fucking freak!”_

_You didn’t have much time to react as a punch was thrown into your stomach and then your face. At some point the punches must have bored them since they moved from just punches to kicks as well, with each blow causing your back or side to smack into the wall. The whole time, when you weren’t trying to catch your breath from their blows, you were laughing. It tickled you that they resorted to such antics. They had no idea what you were planning and it wouldn’t matter. All the pain they gave you now would be soon returned tenfold and they would come to learn real fear and taste their own blood. Everyone in the world someday would learn it._

_“What are you boys doing!”_

_“Scatter!” Geoffrey called out, all of their blows suddenly stopping as they fled up the stairs._

_Your stomach kept twitching from the laughter you held back. You still had to stick with your plan, and if it was going to work you needed the old bag to have sympathy for you. Laughing after being beaten up by four older kids would not be the right situation for you to garner such sympathy. You forced yourself to start crying. No tears fell, you were not able to ever find any way of pulling such a feat, but you could at least whimper and wipe yourself to make it seem as if you were. Plus, a little spit in the right places went a long way you had found._

_“You poor thing…”_

_Ms. Broadstone leaned down and with the help of your ‘friend’, they got you too your feet. You were not used to the help and so it took every ounce of will to keep yourself from ripping from their grasp. It didn’t last long, for as they pulled you up you could feel your sickness hit you again. This time it was nausea paired with sudden dizziness and sweating. You pulled away from them once you were standing, clutching your head and stomach as you hoped the symptoms would go away._

_You cursed the hospital; if only they were smart and let you stay there then you wouldn’t have these symptoms. You had noticed them the day Jeanette stopped giving you the shots and had a hunch that if you could just get more you would be fine. It angered you that they ever stopped giving you them in the first place. Maybe once you were out you would pay the hospital a visit and see if there was something you could do to repay them._

_“Oh, dearie! It seems they hurt you more than I thought. Here, come, come. I will make you some tea.”_

_She slowly lead you towards the kitchen with audible sniffling fallowing behind you. You ignored the crying for now; you were not in the mood to deal with them now._

_After going through a few more halls you eventually came into the dinning room. It was a huge room with three extremely long tables where Ms. Broadstone and the kitchen staff would feed everyone twice a day. She lead the two of you inside of the kitchen and sat you down on a stool she found inside._

_You couldn’t have asked for anything better. You were inside yourself, and you wouldn’t have to rely on that dumb child that kept following you. When the old lady wasn’t looking and instead focused on mixing a peppermint tea, you decided to sneak away._

_“What are you doing?” The words of the kid were quiet and mixed with a few sniffles that was abundant with them. You internally groaned as they already were ruining your plans to be able to complete your eventual goal._

_“Something important.” You pushed yourself off the stool as you whispered back to them._

_“Can I help?”_

_“No.” You didn’t need to give them more of an answer, you just needed to focus on finding and taking one of the knives. You weren’t able to get far as your sleeve was grabbed and held onto. You wiped around to yell at the kid but before you could you were hit with another wave of dizziness and nausea._

_“You’re not well… let me help… please?” They were almost crying again and this time you could help the scowl on their face._

_“Fine.” You spat at them, though your voice was quiet and only loud enough for the kid to hear they still flinched at the anger lacing each word. “Look around the kitchen. /Find the knives and grab one./ Got it?”_

_They stood there, eyes wide and blank for a moment as they attempted to process what you had just said. You came as close as you could to them without actually touching. You wanted to tell them or even start to show them what would happen if they refused to do as you asked. They wanted to help and you were not going to let anyone, even the one person on your side, stand in your way._

_“Go. Find. The. Knives.”_

_Their lips quivered and they eyes dilated in fear. In a rush they fled and started scouring the kitchen, slowly opening drawers and seeing if they would be able to find as you requested. Despite the pain and feebleness your body felt, you had a wide grin as you watched the flitter about trying to complete the request._

_“Now,” Ms Broadstone came up to you, placing a cup on the counter next to you and seating you back on the stool. “this is some peppermint tea, just like my mom used to make me when I was feeling sick. I want you to drink it /all/ okay?” You quietly nodded and took the cup she then handed you of the strong smelling liquid. Inside you could see small pieces of what you assumed to be the flecks of tea, floating around in your cup. “Now, where is your friend? I made them one as well for being so brave and coming to find me.”_

_You almost sputtered into your cup. They were still looking for the knives for you, and you knew that if they were caught you’re one chance at getting a knife would be ripped away from you. If the kid failed to find one that would be one thing, but they were banned from the kitchen than your plan could take weeks or even months longer before you could fully execute it._

_“Wait!” You said, quickly garnering the old bag’s attention before she had a chance to glance around the kitchen. “They, uh,” You had to think of something. You didn’t hear them going through the drawers anymore, so you could only assume that they were hopefully smart enough to have hidden. You didn’t like the odds, but you took a chance and hoped that they were indeed hiding._

_“Are… in the bathroom…” Only after you spoke did you took the chance to look around. For once it seemed that they had managed to do the right thing and hid. Maybe they weren’t as dense and you thought they were._

_“Oh, well, I’ll just have to give it to them when they come back.” She turned her back to you, doing something to the tea pot and tea cup she had set on the counter for you ‘friend’. Whatever it was you could care less. “Now, how is your tea tasting, dear?”_

_“It’s Chara.” You were not sure what in you caused you to snap, but you did. It left you feeling exhilarated slightly at your use of your own name. It would be a goal of yours that if everyone lived long enough they would remember your name. You wanted the world to know your name._

_“Oh, I’m sorry. Do you not like me calling you dear, Chara?”_

_“No.”_

_“Oh, well, it’s a term of endearment! I cherish all of the children here, they are my children and are dear to me, yet with me and my old age I can’t remember all the names of every child.” She turned to you, wearing a worn smile. “You’ll forgive me if I forget sometimes, won’t you, dear?”_

_You opened your mouth, about to tell her no, but you forced yourself to pull back. If you continued to push then she wouldn’t listen to you. Then again, if the cry baby managed to actually find a knife then it would matter anyway and there would be no need to pretend to get the old hags friend. You smiled. What did it matter, you didn’t need these people, these worthless sacks of flesh who walked around like their lives were worth something. They mattered nothing and would amount to nothing. The old bag herself was a prime example; old and decaying, alone, and with a 20 so kids to fill the black void you knew was inside of her._

_You would do it tonight. It no longer mattered and you would no longer wait, so it mattered not what her or anyone else thought. You were done playing games._

_“I said no. My name is, Chara, and you will do well to remember it.” You tone was cold and lifeless with an undertone of threat. You wanted to make your point clear, you wanted her to know that death would be visiting her and everyone else tonight._

_“W-well,” She stuttered, moving to fuss with some other things on the counter. “that’s understandable. You’re mother never gave you a name, right? The police told me about it before you came here. I’m not sure what I can do with all these holes in my memory, but I’ll do my best to remember your name, Chara.”_

_You frowned, saddened that she didn’t willing put up a fight. You hoped that latter tonight she would; then maybe you could finally get some kind of satisfaction._

_“There you are! Felix, comer her child, I have some tea for you.”_

_“I-it’s okay.” You friend muttered beside you, hands wrapped behind their back. From your angle you could see the knife they had hidden behind them, hand shaking as they tried to heel ahold of the handle. “I’m not thirsty right now Mrs. Broadstone.” You needed the knife knowing if it stayed in their hands she would only find it. An idea popped into your head, and so quickly you downed the rest of the liquid in your cup feeling it burn as it trailed down your throat._

_“I’ll have their’s Mrs. Broadstone.” You spoke as loudly as you could, which was maybe a harsh whisper since your throat now ached._

_“Oh my, you shouldn’t drink tea that fast now, Chara! You could burn yourself!” You didn’t care, all you needed was for her to turn her back to you both, just for a few seconds. She took a few steps over to you, putting a hand out silently asking for your cup. You passed it to her, giving her a small smile._

_The moment her back was turned you sprang into action, facing your friend and putting your hand out for the knife._

_“Pass it over.” You whispered to them. Their eyes shifted from you to Mrs. Broadstone. You could feel your nerves stand on end and everything felt static and prickly as anger slowly boiled in you. “Pass. It. Over.” You said again your threat to them clear in your words._

_Their eyes went wide and they quickly handed you the knife with clumsy fingers. You almost cut yourself, but managed to compensate for their blunders in handling the weapon. You pushed yourself off the chair and carefully stuck the knife in the hem of your pants and covered it with you luckily baggy shirt. No one would be able to tell and you would keep it at your side, between your arm and body, so that it would be even harder for it to be noticed._

_You couldn’t wipe the smile from your face after that, even after you started drink the gross, bitter tangy tea that the hag gave you another cup of. You didn’t care, you had a knife, your weapon of choice, and tonight they would all be the first to pay._

_You would have to make sure you thank your little crying friend latter; it seems that they would more useful after all then you had originally though. Even more so, they had followed through, gotten you the weapon without much trouble. Maybe out of everyone else you would spare them; maybe they would be worth letting live._


	39. When You Gatta Go

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You left down the escalator by yourself, heading quietly back down towards everyone else who were still watching the end of the movie. Alphys was so into the show, whispering little things about it to Undyne, that she didn’t even notice your return. Papyrus gave you a smile, motioning silently for you to come and take your seat back that was beside him while Undyne gave side glancing dirty looks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ***Please see Author notes at the bottom of the chapter.***

You left down the escalator by yourself, heading quietly back down towards everyone else who were still watching the end of the movie. Alphys was so into the show, whispering little things about it to Undyne, that she didn’t even notice your return. Papyrus gave you a smile, motioning silently for you to come and take your seat back that was beside him while Undyne gave side glancing dirty looks.  
   
Your stomach twisted at the glare Undyne was giving you. You adverted your eyes, focusing on Papyrus's hand that was resting on where you would be sitting in moments. You were still not sure what Undyne had against you, why she would hate you so quickly, but you figured it best to be forgotten for now. You would let her become your friend in her own time.  
   
It was sometime later that Frisk and Sans returned. Sans's pace was slower then before, his shoulders slightly slumped and smile weak. Frisk on the other hand would wince every so often as they walked hand in hand back to the couch. Frisk noticed you staring, doing their best to flash you a smile as they hid partially behind Sans, as if trying not to be seen by the others.  
   
Sans looked to Frisk, who gave a small nod before letting go of his hand. Sans then quickly took his seat between you and Papyrus as Frisk went to sit between Sans's feet.  
  
You were about to watch the move again, when you noticed some more movement in the corner of your eye. You looked over, seeing giant, towering Papyrus bending over his own lap so that he could be low enough to whisper to Frisk. Whatever he said caused Frisk's face to suddenly light up and you swore you could see something wet on their face. They nodded and Papyrus quickly scooped the child from the floor and placed them easily into their lap.  
  
You smiled at the scene that unfolded. Sure, you had missed a lot of the shows so far and things had been constantly heavy, but you figured in the end it was completely worth it for moment like this.  
  
You went back to watching the movie, but found yourself unable to be still. You started to bounce your leg, run your nails back and forth in patterns on your pants, and at some point believed your pinky finger started to twitch. You couldn't ignore it, the small whispering in the back of your mind wanting to know exactly what happened between Sans and Frisk. You took a deep breath, figuring that you might as well ask Sans what's bothering you, because then maybe with an answer you can finally focus on something else than end of the world scenarios.  
   
“Sans.” You whispered as you leaned as close as possible to Sans without actually touching him. Sans didn’t say anything back, instead only turning his head slightly to face you. “What happened?” Sans still refused to say anything, only shrugging his shoulders in response in a way of saying ‘I have no idea’. You rolled your eyes. "Come on!" You said a little more forceful. "Tell me what when on!"  
   
“<span class="sans">hum?</span>”  
   
“You know! Between you and Frisk. What did you talk about?”  
   
“<span class="sans">later.</span>”  
   
“Okay? So, later as in after the movie later or?”  
   
“<span class="sans">later, later.</span>” You let out a defeated sigh. You looked back to Sans and then Frisk. As your eyes fell on the kid you could visably see them shaking every little bit in Papyrus's arms. They were not watching the movie and you could not see their face.  
  
“Fine, later then.” You didn’t want to push Frisk, whatever Sans and them had talked about really took a toll on the poor kid. It wasn't going to be something that you would just let slip by.  
   
The movie soon ended and it wasn’t long before Alphys put in the next Mew Mew Kissy Cutie movie. Even though you had missed a majority of the previous one it didn’t seem to matter much as the story was easy to grasp. What more stood on your mind was Sans and Frisk and the new weight on your shoulder’s know what was coming. Occasionally you would shake your head physically, giving yourself some kind of grounding motion to let you chase away the thoughts. You couldn’t do anything right then, so logic dictated that you should worry about it now.  
   
It was after the end of the second movie that the floor became more open to suggestions besides Mew Mew Kissy Cutie, since Alphys had finally run out of movies. Sans had managed to stop her from subsequently trying to show everyone the entire first season of the regular show. While Sans had been stalling, it gave Undyne and Papyrus to pick out another anime, this time one with a ton more action and fighting and something that would help keep you better distracted.  
   
Everything continued like that and after a while your worries were lost to the sea of colors and engaging plot. Everyone occasionally would leave to get snacks and at some point Alphys and Undyne brought out pillows and blankets for everyone to share as they watched. You had even managed to get Undyne to talk to you, just a little bit, as you watched. You had found that she had a passion for the fighting abilities of the hero's and tucked away the small gem of knowledge for later. You thought that, if you could learn more about Undyne then maybe, eventually, you would fine some way to befriend her.  
   
At some point, you had no idea when, you started to grow tired. It was a tired that crept up on you, not letting you know that you were as exhausted as you were until it was too late and if you even tried to drive home you would fall asleep at the wheel. It was moments like these that you hated yourself; you had work tomorrow and all this was going to do was make it fifty times harder for you to be able to function normally. However, as you did your best to keep your eyes open, you knew it was worth it.  
   
You placed the pillow you had halfway between the back of the couch and the armrest, allowing a weird angle that combined you still being able to see the screen and being somewhat comfortable. You eyelids kept drooping and begging to close despite how many times you forced them back open. You were listening to the anime more as a thing of white noise rather than absorbing any of the plot. You were not sure how, or when, but at some point you closed your eyes and when you opened them again the TV was off, the room was quiet, and there was a warm and heavy weight in your lap.  
   
“Hmm?” You looked around in the dark, seeing outlines and shapes of different furniture and chairs. You were still at Alphys’s place, that much you could tell. You looked to the couch, but found it empty and bare of any other life forms. It was when you looked down that you corrected your sleepy statement, finding Sans fast asleep with his head in your lap.  
   
You could feel your face quickly turning red and a small tingle travel through you. You mind became a sudden battle in your sleep induced haze. One part of you said you needed to move and find another place to sleep, while yet another deeper part was crying out to just stay and enjoy the contact of someone else against you. A dark and cunning voice made sure to inform you that, if you did indeed stay then you were using Sans to satisfy your own wants, even though he was the one to place his head in your lap to start.  
   
‘Should I move? Should I not? Should I move?...’ The words kept replying in your head as you stared at Sans. It wasn’t often that you were so close to someone. It was warm and comforting, but you couldn’t settle down. Your heart was racing and you could sit still. In the end, despite your wants, you resorted to moving Sans.  
   
Besides, you needed to pee anyway.  
   
You looked around, trying to find some kind of a pillow you might be able to slide Sans onto, hopefully without waking him. However, you found that the only pillow near by was the one you were leaning against. Carefully, you pushed it in the small crevise between you, Sans, and the couch. Once it was settled and in as best of an angle as you could managed you gently took Sans by the shoulders and started scooting out from underneath him.  
  
‘Cute…’ The words rang through your mind as you noticed his mouth hanging open slightly with a tiny dab of what looked like translucent blue goo.  
   
You paused, shaking your head to get the words and your own tired, ridiculous instincts to leave you be. Sans was a friend, that was all he was and just because someone was nice to you didn’t mean you had to fall for them.  
   
You resumed moving out from under Sans, finding his body lighter then you expected him to be. When you thought about it, he was a skeleton so it made sense for him to not really weight much, but it still caught you off guard. It didn’t take very long for you to move Sans off of you allowing you to be free, to which you quickly got up and started heading down the hall.  
   
You headed towards the back of the lab, finding on your way that Frisk and Papyrus had made some kind of chair-blanket-pillow fort combination near where the food had been. You could hear small whispers coming from the tent and a small light coming from within. You decided to leave them be and head past hoping to find your desired destination.  
   
You came to the door of which you had passed before that was notated as being the bathroom and went inside.  
  
Your heart immediately sank. For some reason someone had played a cruel joke and labeled an elevator as a bathroom. You ended up leaving, hoping that perhaps down the hall there would be an actual bathroom. However, you came only to a pair of double doors that lead back outside.  
   
You groaned and pulled yourself back inside the cool air-conditioned building that was the lab. There had to be some kind of bathroom somewhere, so you decided to search the lab again, hoping that you would eventually find it.  
   
You meandered about the first floor, making sure not to disturb Frisk and Papyrus who had seemed to have gone to sleep now. You also did your best not to knock something down as you wondered about in the dark to wake up anyone else who might have been sleeping nearby. You came up empty handed and with your bladder starting to become unbearably painful.  
   
The only place you hadn’t actually checked yet was upstairs and with how little you were paying attention you the surrounding area when you were last up there you figured it was probably a good idea to pay the next floor a visit. Carefully you stepped on the escalator that was still running and patiently waited for you to reach the top.  
   
Once there you walked down the hall, carefully inspecting everywhere you could to see if there was some kind of door you might have missed before or even some kind of sign of a bathroom. Yet again, much to your horror, there wasn’t anything that remotely seemed to be a bathroom. Really the only thing you found besides more anime and anime figurines was a bed with Undyne and Alphys snuggled up against each other sleeping soundly.  
   
With a sigh you headed back down. You knew what was going to have to happen next; you were going to have to go outside and find some kind of place to do your dirty business. You were literally out of options and from what you remembered of your last visit to the hotlands there was nothing besides dirt, lava, and magic bridges.  
   
You headed back into the couch, looking for your shoes as you had taken them off while watching anime. It took a bit of searching, but you eventually them and silently slipped them on.  
   
“What are you doing, /human/?” You almost screamed at the sudden voice, spinning around to see the shadowy outline of Undyne. “Hope you weren’t planning something.”  
   
“What?” You quickly said in a rushed whisper, confused and slightly frustrated at Undyne's sudden accusal. “I’ve just gatta use the bathroom and I can’t find it! So, I'm going out side. No 'plans' here.” You said, glad that the darkness was hiding the probably brilliant shade of red your face was right now. Undyne bellowed out a laugh, loud enough you were sure it would wake someone up, but all it did was cause Sans to snort in his sleep and roll over to wrap his arms around his pillow.  
   
“Look, you’re not going to find a bathroom here.”  
   
“Well, I would love to know why, but I’m about to burst here! Do you know where I might find one?”  
   
“I don’t know.” Undyne said, crossing her arms against her chest and shifting her weight onto one foot, lightly tapping the other against the ground. “Why would I want to help a _human_?”  
   
“Because I’m your guest?!” You said exasperatedly.  
   
“Hey, this was Alphys’s idea. She wanted to have a party and thought it was a good idea to let Sans bring you long. If it was my choice I would have met you at the entrance with my spear.” Undyne spat her words at you, making sure to layer them with as much disgust as she could push into each syllable. You were starting to reevaluate the possibilities of Undyne actually becoming your friend.  
   
“Well then how about you help me and I won’t pee on your floor?!” You bit back through gritted teeth.  
   
“Really? You would embarrass yourself like that, just to make a point?” You nodded, putting on your most determined face that you could, despite that she probably couldn’t see it anyway.  
   
“Yes! Now, please Undyne, if you could just show me where some kind of restroom was then I will gladly be on my way.”  
   
“Tsk.” Undyne said, unfolding her arms and waving for you to follow her. “Fine. Follow me you welp.”  
   
With a small sigh of relief you followed her, heading towards the front door of the lab. Your relief didn’t last long though as she headed outside into the sweltering heat of the Hotland landscape. The light of the lava lit the both of you up, letting you see that Undyne was wearing a pair of black shorts that you wondered if they might have even been boxers and a thin sleeveless tank top.  
   
“Um, where are we going?”  
   
“You want to go to the bathroom, don’t you?”  
   
“Yes?” You said timidly, scared slightly by the octave raise in her voice the moment the two of you were outside.  
   
“The shut up and follow.” Undyne then stomped off ahead, moving towards the area you knew the elevators to be. You hurried to follow her, able to catch that she was mumbling something to herself about ‘dumb humans’.  
   
You scowled. What in the hell had you done to her to warrant her anger? Maybe you had done something to insult her? If you had, you just wished that she would tell you exactly what you had done wrong so that you could fix it.  
   
You both came to the elevator and quickly moved inside. You stood as far as you could to one side of the elevator while Undyne leaned against the wall of the other, arms crossed, and eyes closed. She didn’t say a word and though you wanted to find something to talk about you continued to only draw a blank in your mind. Multiple times you found yourself with your mouth hanging open, yet the words refused to pass and so the trip was taken in silence.  
   
The elevator dinged and once it’s metal doors were open you both exited. You followed a few steps behind Undyne, not really sure where she was taking you at all, but even simple questions were starting to become hard to say. Eventually, you both passed through the front doors of some kind of resort, maneuvered around the more dry side of a water fountain with a robot spitting water, and eventually she came to a stop in front of a empty counter.  
   
“Here you go.” Undyne said, nodding in the direction of the counter as you came up to it.  
   
“Um... This isn't a bathroom...“  
   
“Yeah I know. The bathroom is on the other side. Just hop over the counter, head to the back, and its the last door on the left.”  
  
You studied her face to see if she was joking in any way shape or form, she had to be since it was the only thing that made any kind of sense as to why she would ask you to hop over a counter. You waited for the punch line, the ringer, a thrown on ‘just kidding’ at the end making it funny. However, she only waited and it because clear she was really wanting you to do just as she said.  
   
“No way!” You said as you glanced around in the area behind it. There wasn’t anyone there, but it was obviously a well established resort of some kind. There was no way you were going to break and enter just to pee in a bowl of water. “There’s got to be some bathroom than this one!”  
   
“Nope. You’re shit out of luck. This is the only one and if you don’t like it you can... do whatever it is you’re going to do right here. This isn’t Alphys’s lab, so I don’t care.” Undyne waved a hand dismissively as she spoke before putting her arms back into their crossed position and leaned again the wall.  
   
“How can this be the only one?!”  
   
“I don’t know.” Undyne said, shrugging her shoulders, still refusing to look at you. “Fucking Mettaton is obsessed with humans, decided that his restaurant just had to have 'bathrooms'; or at least that’s what Papyrus told me when he installed his. Tsk.” Undyne shook her head slowly. “I swear.”  
   
“How can you all not have bathrooms?! It’s basic biology! Everyone has, ya know, ‘nature’s call’ and shit!”  
   
“You mean like sex?” You could feel the flush creeping across your face.  
   
“No! I mean like, having to go number 1 and number 2, expel the waste of you food you ate, your body’s natural process to remove toxins!”  
   
“Oh, well, monster’s are made of magic; we don’t do that.”  
   
“What?!” You could feel your face becoming hot again from a mixture of embarrassment and simmering frustration. Sure, it was interesting that Monsters didn't need bathroom, but-  
  
Your body then shot a warning through you that you could tell was going to be the last and final one you could get. You would deal with this and Undyne once you were out, if she was still here.  
  
“Nevermind! Excuse me!” You said before you hoisted yourself up and over the counter ignoring the alarms going off in your head.  
  
You headed to where Undyne had directed you, ducking in, and hurriedly doing your business. You finally had true release of the pressure building up in you though you swore you wouldn’t let yourself cut it that close ever again. Once the initial euphoria finished your mind wondered back to Undyne.  
  
You washed your hands, taking a bit of an extra long time to fully clean them, letting yourself instead try to think of what to say to her. All you had to go off of besides your own intuition was what Sans said; that she was actually kind and wasn’t really so bad. You gave a sarcastic chuckle, she was willing to let you pee yourself because she didn’t like you.  
  
Maybe this felt bigger then it was because you were tired, a little hungry, and obviously stressed with all of the stuff going on in your world right then. You tried to reason with yourself, trying to make sure that your anger wasn't misplaced. You came up with no answers and only feelings that you were being attacked and without reason.  
   
You finally knew what you were going to say as you turned off the water for the sink. You were going to come out strong and ready, to face her at her own mental might. You placed an hand on the door handle, took a few deep breaths, and pushed open the door ready to fight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it has been months since I last posted.
> 
> Things have been crazy, and stressful, and tough. I know everyone's lives have a lot of this, that everyone has a lot that they go through, and so I don't really feel like it's an excuse. But, it's still felt like it's been just one of those rides I did not sign up for but was forced to go on anyway.
> 
> Either way, I would like to announce that I am back to writing, or at least I am trying to. I don't have many chapters as a buffer to post yet, so what I plan to do is post once a month for now. I'm doing NaNoWriMo and so that should help me get back into the swing of things and really, so far it has done just that.
> 
> I would like to give a HUGE shout out to Jacklvmage12. Thank you for rooting for me for months, for giving me comments that have helped me slowly come back from my fall, pick myself back up, and get started moving again. Thank you for your friendship and your support, sincerely from the bottom of my heart.
> 
> I also thank everyone who has been helping me for the past few months while I spiraled out of control for a bit there. Thank you for helping me and allowing me the time to pick myself back up.
> 
> Now, I said I was going to finish this story, and I am! I'm back, I will be posting chapters though not as much as before, and I swear I will get this story 100% complete eventually!
> 
> I hope that you all enjoy reading my story so far, that you will continue to, and that you can forgive me for the long pause I had to take.

**Author's Note:**

> Super shout out to M_Moonshade who's not only been one of my most amazing best friend for a few years now but has also been willing to beta read/edit for me <3
> 
> M_Moonshade, I can't thank you enough as always!! <3
> 
> Another super thanks to all my readers!! You all are awesome <3 <3
> 
> If you would like to contact me feel free to at rileywrit.tumblr.com
> 
> Code for Sans and Papyrus's fonts from here and they are amazing: http://archiveofourown.org/works/5434577?show_comments=true#comments


End file.
